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Toy Shop: Santa needs help -- now
By MARY JANE PARK ST. PETERSBURG -- Santa's helpers need help with toys for the jolly old elf's youngest recipients. "We're in desperate need" of new toys for children ages 1 to 5, said Ardith Rutland, who heads the Christmas Toy Shop. "We start our distributions the first week of December," she said, and business is "very slow. It really is. Usually we've had a lot of new toys in by now." The organization seeks new trucks, cars, Legos, games -- anything but stuffed animals or dolls -- valued at between $10 and $15. "There's tons of stuff" in the marketplace, Rutland said. Most toys have designations for appropriate ages. Deliveries (no gift-wrapped items, please) should be made at the Christmas Toy Shop's new distribution center. The building centralizes the organization's operations and has added more than 12,000 square feet of space, for a total of about 20,000 square feet. The Christmas Toy Shop supplies gifts for numerous organizations such as We Help, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Personal Enrichment Through Mental Health Services (PEMHS), and references through churches and schools. "Any legitimate organization, we try to help," Rutland said. Some groups collect new toys through holiday parties in mid-December, Rutland said, but she stressed the urgency of the situation. "We need the toys now," she said. The Christmas Toy Shop, 550 16th St. N, is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; telephone 898-3962.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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