Toy story ends happily

“To see the look on their faces when they’re coming out with the toys — it’s always a special feeling,” he said. “But to see the looks on the mothers’ faces, they always say ‘thank you.’”

The organization offers programs on family literary, school readiness, child care as well as after-school tutoring, family counseling and day care for women and children in shelters. It was one of a handful across the region this weekend to host similar drives.

At the Hollenbeck Youth Center, one of Los Angeles’ biggest toy drives, thousands stood in line, some having spent the night, for a chance to score a Christmas gift. And in the downtown area, Cardinal Roger Mahony dispatched volunteers from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to deliver toys, blankets and food to the doorsteps of 350 low-income families.

In Glendale, volunteers worked for more than a month to buy, collect and sort the hundreds of Barbie dolls, Batman action figures and make-believe firefighter masks leading up to the event. They then arranged sets of like toys in large piles inside the gym.

Matt Finkelberg, 14, stood behind a table and passed out a range of boxed items, identifying a popular racetrack complete with remote-control cars as the choice gift of the hour.

“I like to help,” said Matt, a student at St. Francis. “Some of the families here can’t afford presents.”

By the time firefighters and police officers arrived at the center they were greeted outside by a swarm of children waiting with their parents in the cordoned-off street.

Mileva Reyes, 21, waited patiently in line with her 2- and 4-year-old children before finally reaching the gym. The ‘thank yous’ poured out of her as she exited the building on the way back to their Los Angeles home.

Others started waiting in line before sunrise for the event, which ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the center in the 700 block of South Glendale Avenue.