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Toy Shoppe to hold open house to celebrate 25th anniversary

The Toy Shoppe is celebrating its silver anniversary.

And they’re holding an open house next week to continue that celebration.

Located on the Warren State Hospital grounds, the Toy Shoppe was originally born as a concept to provide activity and socialization for retired people in Warren County by designing and making wooden toys for children in need.

The program has grown to bless thousands of children in the area over the last 25 years.

The open house, set for Friday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will include the presentation of a certificate of achievement by Rep. Kathy Rapp and Sen. Scott Hutchinson.

To get to the Toy Shoppe, enter the State Hospital grounds by turning right off of Rt. 62 at the Warren Commons. Turn left on hospital drive and then left on the other side of building #20.

Volunteer coordinator Pat Williams told the Times Observer earlier this year that the Toy Shoppe was formed in 1998 by a group who had a vision that recognized the “therapeutic values of being active senior citizens.” And the vision was to couple that work with serving disadvantaged children in the county.

The first year of production was 1999 and 1,000 toys were made.

Twenty-five years later? The organization has about 50 active volunteers, has made 30,000 toys including 1,835 last year and a distribution network that includes the Salvation Army, Toys For Tots and a host of other agencies.

“The toys we produce are multi-faceted,” Williams said. “We do a lot of doll toys, tables and chairs for Barbie and Ken, beds for all ranges of doll sizes.

“We do puzzles and games. We’ll do tic-tac-toe. Then we do all kinds of toys they can move with.”

That includes shopping carts with wooden fruits and vegetables, toy gas ranges and chainsaws.

The Toy Shoppe program is funded through grants and donations for the cost of the wood as well as the maintenance required to keep the tools and machines going. They’re part of Warren Gives.

Volunteers gather Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings form 8 a.m. until noon.

Starting at $2.99/week.

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