Firefighters deliver toys to Medina families

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Firefighters delivered boxes of toys, food and clothes to about 100 Medina families and senior citizens this morning. The delivery was the last step in annual toy and gift effort coordinated by the Medina Area Association of Churches.

In the top photo, Medina firefighters, including Guy Scribner (center), load a truck with boxes that would then be distributed in the community.

Don Marchner, lower left, has been helping deliver the boxes of toys the past 45 years. Marchner, a member of the Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company, said firefighters look forward to the delivery each year.

“We’re helping people that need it,” he said. “It’s just giving back to the community.”

Mike Kelly (with box in center) is president of the Ridgeway Fire Company. Firefighters from Ridgeway, Shelby, East Shelby and Medina all helped deliver the boxes to families and senior citizens this morning.

“For us, we’re usually going to house fires or EMS calls,” Kelly said. “Today we get to bring joy to the families.”

Paul Wengrzycki, a Medina firefighter, carries a box with toys and food to a truck this morning. He has helped deliver the holiday boxes the past 11 years. He works as a school bus driver and he said he sees the need in the community.

“It’s tough for a lot of families,” Wengrzycki said. “They don’t have money to go out and buy stuff for Christmas.”

The MAAC includes 16 local churches. They put out 29 barrels and residents filled them with toys, food, clothing and other donations. Volunteers spent much of the week sorting the donations and putting them in boxes for the families and senior citizens.

Ridgeway firefighter Rick Tuohey, in back, follows a line of fireifghters in loading up a truck with holiday boxes. The Medina United Methodist Church at the former Apple Grove Inn served as the staging area for the MAAC holiday initiative.