BY STACI WILSON
SCCTC’s Keaton Smith shakes the hand of Lance Cpl. Curtis Yockey after loading some of the wooden toys handcrafted by the carpentry and cabinet-making class that were donated Monday to Toys for Tots. STAFF PHOTO/STACI WILSON
Christmas morning will find some area children waking to find homemade wooden toys and gifts under their trees.
Students from the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center in Dimock presented their wooden creations to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program on Monday.
Bruce Castelli’s Carpentry and Cabinet-making students doubled as Santa’s elves over the past few weeks – sawing out the wooden toys in the SCCTC workshop.
Three Elk Lake students spearheaded the endeavor: Chris Meaders, Keaton Smith and James McIntire. They will be presenting the community service project at the SkillsUSA state competition in April.
Meaders, a sophomore, said making the toys for children made him feel good. “The reality hit that some kids won’t get toys for Christmas. We’re helping out for them to have a good Christmas this year.”
Chris Meaders, James McIntyre and Keaton Smith hold the SkillsUSA banner in front of the toys made to donate to Toys for Tots.
McIntyre concentrated his efforts on painting the wooden stools and toddler-sized rocking horses. “These toys are different than the ones from stores,” he said. “They are better made.”
Smith said he thought it was “pretty neat” the class was able to made homemade Christmas gifts for kids “whose parents might not be able to afford something for them to wake up to in the morning.”
The three, along with the rest of their classmates, said it was exciting to see the project come together as Cpl. Jeremy Vasquez and Lance Cpl. Curtis Yockey arrived at the school to load the Toys for Tots donations.
SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure the United States maintains and develops a skilled workforce. The competitions – held at the regional, state and national levels – help students develop skills that will benefit them in the workforce, such as public speaking, communication and presentation skills.
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