Nonprofit gives nearly 20k toys to the children
By Erin Heft
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SOMERSET, California (KCRA) — Nearly 20,000 toys were passed out to children affected by the Caldor Fire on Sunday.
The event was put on by the nonprofit Ashlee’s Toy Closet. The founder, Ashlee Smith, lost her home to the Angora Fire when she was 8 years old. The fire burned almost 5 square miles and destroyed more than 250 homes as it swept through Lake Tahoe’s south shore during the summer of 2007.
Ashlee now makes it her goal to help those who experienced hardship due to wildfires.
Bre Huberty is a mother to three children. Their Grizzly Flats home was burnt to the ground by the Caldor Fire, along with their entire neighborhood. At the toy giveaway, her two boys were gifted dirt bikes after losing theirs to the fire.
“I’m trying not to cry. I can’t put this into words I never thought this was going to happen,” Huberty said.
Ashlee stood next to the two new dirt bikes while calling out to the Hubertys from across the parking lot.
“Hi, I heard you guys lost your dirt bikes that you worked really hard for. Do you want these ones?” Ashlee said.
Now in her 20s, Smith said over the past 14 years since the founding of her nonprofit, she’s helped give over 3 million toys to children in need.
“We never thought it would be this big, but you kind of just don’t say no to the next natural disaster that happens and you just keep going,” Smith said.
Ashlee’s mother Ericka Smith said when their family lost everything, toys were not on her mind.
“I honestly as a parent didn’t think about that. I thought about ‘We need shelter. We need food. I need to know where I’m gonna put them to bed tonight, but I didn’t think about toys. But they’re so important” Ericka said.
Ashlee chose Pioneer Elementary School, which is the new campus for more than 80 children displaced by the fire, as the location for the Toy Closet.
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