CASSOPOLIS — Walking into Cass County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ken Lebeda’s garage in Cassopolis, one is met with hundreds of boxes, several brand-new bicycles and piles of plastic grocery bags with colorful toys spilling out.

‘“My wife has been complaining about how she can’t park in the garage,” Lebeda joked while showing off the impressive haul. “Not being able to park in the driveway has been a little inconvenient with all this snow we’ve been having.”

Lebeda’s wife will not need to worry much longer, as all the toys will soon be going to families in need throughout Cass County.

Lebeda has been running the Cass County Toys for Tots program for the last 27 years. Each year, the program supports nearly 800 children countywide, with help from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the many drop-off locations in the county. This year, the program has once again met its collection goal and will be distributing the toys to parents in the county on Dec. 23 at Pleasant View Church of Christ in Cassopolis.

The program works by having area schools and Faith in Action for Cass County distribute applications for the program to local parents, who then fill them out and are later scheduled to come pick up the toys. The toys chosen to give to the children are based off the information given on the applications.

“I don’t want to know anyone’s income. That’s not my intent,” Lebeda said. “The schools and the FIA knows who’s in a low-income family that needs help and we just want to help them. … Seeing the stack of applications and knowing that those kids will have a good Christmas, that’s what matters to me.”

Lebeda got involved with Toys for Tots back when he was a military reservist in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1990, the woman who previously handled the program retired, and Lebeda took up the reins of the project, saying that the program would have been dropped had he not taken on the responsibility.

Since then, Lebeda has served as the coordinator for the project, organizing volunteers and drop-off locations and dealing directly with the Toys for Tots Foundation.

Each year, Lebeda not only gives his time and energy to the project, but spends between $300 to $500 out of pocket to support the program and purchase toys for the children of Cass County.

“I believe in the project and what it’s for. I know where that money is going to, which is what makes it worth it,” Lebeda said. “Thinking about how it will make the children happy is what makes it worth it.”

Toys for Tots in Cass County would not be possible without the help of the Cass County community, Lebeda said.

“The county supports a little over a quarter of the toys we need,” Lebeda said. “The rest comes from the [Toys for Tots] foundation.”

Lebeda has seen the way the community comes together for the program first hand, as many people drop off gifts directly to Lebeda’s home. One couple in particular dropped off 10 bikes this year and filled four large boxes with toys, something that Lebeda has seen them do year after year.

“The program is definitely well supported by the community,” he said. “It’s kind of amazing what people do.”

The agencies that participate as drop-off locations also see the way the community supports its own during the holidays through the Toys for Tots program.

Cass County Animal Control has been a Toys for Tots drop-off location for the last 17 years. Each year, the agency hosts a Christmas for the Animals event, in which people donate large amounts of supplies for the animal shelter to use throughout the year. However, people do not just give to the animals at the event, people also donate in large quantity to the shelter’s Toys for Tots boxes, according to animal control director Ronald Butts.

“It’s almost equal,” Butts said of the donations. “It’s great to see the community come together like this.”

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, one of the biggest supporters of the project, shared a similar sentiment.

“People and employees are always putting stuff  in the boxes,” said Undersheriff Clint Roach. “It’s a great program and we are happy to serve as a collection point.”

With a group of volunteers coming to clear out his garage on Thursday, Lebeda said he feels both relief and excitement that the Cass County Toys for Tots program is nearly completed for the year, but that the work is not done and the time to start planning the 2018 program will begin sooner than most think.

People can also make donations year-round to the program by writing a check to Cass County Toys for Tots program.

“Come October next year, you will see the cans out for the change and the boxes out for the toys,” Lebeda said. “Then it will start all
over again.”