Wanted: SM Elves

Lake Christian Ministries' toy boxes are located at area churches and businesses.

Courtesy of Virginia Dare Cruises & Marina

Hundreds of toys collected for the annual Flotilla for Toys filled an old wooden boat at the Virginia Dare Marina last year.

Because of Smith Mountain Lake's abundance of million-dollar homes, lake residents sometimes forget there are low-income families right in their backyard, said Alice Swain.

"You don't realize that two blocks back off the lake how many children are in need," she said.

Ten years ago, Swain, proprietor of the Virginia Dare, teamed up with Lake Christian Ministries to help provide holiday joy to those children through LCM's "A Child's Christmas." The program supplies new toys, clothing and other items for children whose parents are registered with the nonprofit, which provides food, clothing and financial assistance year-round.

The majority of the toys donated come through the Flotilla for Toys, a lighted boat parade spearheaded by Swain and led by the Virginia Dare, said Jim Cameron, director of LCM.

This year's Flotilla is Saturday, Dec. 5. Swain said participating captains, their crews and people who view the two-hour cruise from land are asked to place one new, unwrapped toy in one of the LCM drop-off boxes located around the lake.

"If we had every single person along the way who has a party, we'd have thousands and thousands of toys," said Swain.

Last year, the Flotilla and drop boxes generated more than 1,500 toys for children living in the lake area, said Cameron. Those toys were distributed to almost 500 children through age 16. Cameron said he hopes people won't forget to donate toys during this strained economic season because there are more families registered with LCM because of job losses and pinched incomes.

"Our numbers are up by 50 percent, 40 percent; it varies by the day," said Cameron. "We really don't know where we're going to end up."

Lynda Imirie, who coordinates "A Child's Christmas," said last week that there already were more than 300 children signed up to receive the care packages.

"And we still have this week, next week and the week after to register," she said. "I suspect that we will have at least as many kids as we did last year."

In addition to the toy drop-off boxes, LCM has about 20 angel trees throughout the lake area at businesses and churches where people can select cards showing what each child needs, including toy preferences and clothing sizes.

"What I'm seeing is that there are a lot of the traditional toys that kids want," said Imirie. "The girls still love Barbies and anything Dora. The boys still like Spiderman."

Toys from television shows and movies are the most popular, she added. Many boys have asked for toys of superheroes and Transformers. Topping the list for preteen girls is "Twilight" followed by "High School Musical." The teenagers are harder to shop for, said Cameron.

"The older they get, the tougher they are to buy for," he said. "The toys get very expensive. ... You know how some of the electronics and stuff, how expensive those things can be."

Imirie said LCM often takes money donated for "A Child's Christmas" and gathers a collection of gift cards for the teenagers. Wendy's donates gift cards and the Bedford Walmart donates a portion of the cost of gift cards "around the price of a CD or DVD," said Imirie.

"We let them get their own gift and they're much happier that way," she said.

The pot is sweetened with a movie ticket voucher to Westlake Cinema. Last year, LCM purchased tickets for about 175 teenagers.

When not enough toys and clothing are donated for the various age groups, volunteers shop at Walmart for what they're lacking.

Every year, the haul is taken to Bethlehem United Methodist Church to be bagged. Volunteers are armed with cards listing what each child needs and wants.

"We get like 150 volunteers that help us pull all this together," said Imirie. "They actually match up angels with kids and clothes to make it all come together."

They pack the items into garbage bags that are sealed with a bow and stored until the families come to LCM to pick them up.

"It's really something to see when the whole fellowship hall in Bethlehem is filled with these great big black garbage bags tied with a red bow," said Cameron.

Swain said the monumental effort is an important one, bringing the lake community together to help their less fortunate neighbors.

"If you can, please remember the ones that can't," she said.