Firefighters enjoy helping Santa in Medina

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 December 2015 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Valerie Childs, a Ridgeway firefighter, carries a box full of toys this morning. She was one of about 30 firefighters who volunteered to deliver toys to about 150 children in the annual toy drive by the Medina Area Association of Churches.

Firefighters delivered boxes of toys, food and clothes to more than 100 Medina families and senior citizens this morning. The delivery was the last step in annual toy and gift effort coordinated by MAAC, an annual initiative going back more than four decades.

Ridgeway firefighters fill a truck up with boxes of toys. Rick Tuohey is in the truck. He has been helping with the toy delivery the past 18 years.

Don Marchner, Ridgeway fire chief, is in front at right. He has helped deliver the toys for about 40 years.

“It’s for a good cause,” Marchner said. “When you see the kids’ faces light up, it means a lot and makes you feel warm inside.”

Firefighters from Medina, Ridgeway, Shelby and East Shelby delivered toys to Medina families this morning. Paul Wengrzycki, a Medina firefighter, is in front at left.

The Medina United Methodist Church at the former Apple Grove Inn served as the staging area for the MAAC holiday effort.

Brothers Vinny Viterna, left, and Dominic Viterna help load up a truck with toys. Vinny just joined the Shelby Volunteer Fire Company and his brother is a junior firefighter.