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THE FOOTHILLS FOCUS | THEFOOTHILLSFOCUS.COM | DECEMBER 29, 2021
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Daisy Mountain Fire�ighters makes ‘a big difference’ for Valleywise kids BY ALLISON BROWN Foothills Focus Staff Writer
D
aisy Mountain Firefighters Charities collected and donated hundreds of toys to the Valleywise Health Medical Center for children who have experienced painful or traumatic events on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Ryan Potter, organizer of the Daisy Mountain Charity toy drive, said this has been an annual tradition for the charity organization for about 14 years. Daisy Mountain Firefighter Charities is a nonprofit organization that helps local families in times of need. The charity is composed of fire-
fighters and their family and friends who donate their time, money and resources to help community members. “I can’t tell you how many were donated, because at some point it just becomes way too many to count. But it has been an absolute record year for us. I think we filled a 24-foot box truck all the way to the ceiling with toys.” Potter said this was a record-breaking year in terms of how many toys were donated. He said the charity partnered with local businesses to collect toys from Thanksgiving to mid-December, and the community really came through for the kids. He added that they are extremely grateful to the businesses, volunteers and
community members who helped make this possible and said it was “touching” to see people come together for the cause. Valleywise Health Medical Center was chosen because, as a smaller hospital, it often doesn’t get as much community support as some of the big hospitals in the Valley. “A lot of people, when they’re looking to donate to hospitalized children, they think of the children’s hospitals that we have in town,” said Kyla Brown, child life coordinator for Valleywise Health Medical Center. “So, it’s definitely nice to have people who recognize the need and really reach out to support the patients that we serve.”
Members of the charity, staff at the hospital, volunteers, and even Santa himself showed up to help unload the truck. Brown said with the abundance of toys donated, the hospital should have enough to last year-round. While the toys are given out around Christmastime, the hospital also uses them in situations that are potentially traumatic for kids. “Anytime the patient has painful or invasive procedures like IV starts, blood draws, things like that, we will actually provide them with a toy after that,” Brown explained. “That really helps to make the hospital look more
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