MARYSVILLE — With three children and a husband whose job injury left him unable to work, Colleen Goad is one of many Marysville parents who found her family facing a challenging Christmas.
“He was a furniture delivery man who broke his back,” Goad said, as she checked out the girls’ toy selections for her 8- and 13-year-old daughters at the Red Curtain Arts Center Dec. 17.
“He’s been on L&I the past two years, which gives us a little bit of income, but we could still use a little bit of help, and this definitely helps a lot.”
Goad learned about the Marysville Community Food Bank’s Toy Store through The Grove Church.
“I don’t my kids to think that Christmas is just about gifts, but at the same time, I don’t want them to think they’re getting less because they’ve done something wrong,” Goad said. “I don’t want to take advantage, but I also don’t want them judging themselves.”
The former Dunn Lumber building on Grove Street has been a regular site for the toy store, but its conversion into the arts center made it more festive. Volunteer Nancy Van Patten credited Red Curtain’s decorations for its holiday plays .
“I’ve had families tell me this year is the best shopping experience they’ve ever had with the toy store,” Van Patten said.
Volunteer Lil Dayton even suggested that this year’s changes inspired more generous giving than usual. “So many things have happened in this community over the past year,” Dayton said. “We simply couldn’t do this without our donors and volunteers.”
Patricia Duemell, an evidence technician with the Marysville Police Department, noted that a core group of 15 volunteers organized the toy store, but added that the police department, city and churches also have been active supporting it.
“We’ve even got the Navy here,” Duemell said, pointing to Petty Officer 3rd Class James Jenkins of the USS Nimitz, as he helped shoppers to their cars. “I’m so thrilled by the outreach.”
Jenkins is no stranger to community service, having worked in soup kitchens in Hawaii and organized a volunteer response to the March 22 Oso slide. After escorting clients through the food bank’s aisles Dec. 16, he showed up to the toy store the next day.
“Especially after having seen some of the things I’ve seen, I’m going to say that you shouldn’t take for granted what you have,” Jenkins said. “We should all take advantage of the time that we have to give something back.”
