On June 22, Gary Garberg, the organizer of the volunteer organization, Midwest Wooden Toys, presented Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott with a donation of nearly 200 wooden cars. 

The idea is to have a package of six toys placed in each of the county’s 32 patrol units, where the officers will be available to share the toys with children who are in stressful situations due to circumstances out of their control. 

Garberg started the volunteer toy making operation after participating as a volunteer in a similar operation in Las Vegas, where he winters with his wife Mona every year. The Las Vegas operation, called Toys 4 Kids Las Vegas, has operated for many years. It produces and distributes nearly 600 toys every week to worthy organizations in the Las Vegas area. One can learn more about that operation at the website, toys4kidslasvegas.org.  The Las Vegas organization is a 501c3 and donations are always welcome. The operation that Garberg started near his home on Lake Julia mirrors the Las Vegas operation.

All the wood that Garberg uses to produce the toys has been and will continue to be donated by Travis Williams, the local State Farm Insurance agent in the St. Cloud area. Williams provides the raw lumber, cut to the proper size for making the toys and has committed to making this contribution for as long as the toy operation exists. Since wood is the key and most expensive component of the production of the toys, this commitment is invaluable. 

Along with wood, volunteers to produce the toys are a very important component. 

Anyone interested in becoming a potential volunteer for the Midwest Wooden Toys operation can contact Gary Garberg at midwestwoodentoys@gmail.com, or contact him personally on his cell phone at 702-205-9452.  

The only goal of this wooden toy operation is to put smiles of the faces of kids at a moment when they really need it. If that is accomplished, everyone involved is a winner.