‘Santa’s Room’ is full of toys

Santa arrived a little early this year when roughly 600 toys were delivered to “Santa’s Room” at the Family Service Agency of Burbank on Tuesday.

The room is like a “mini Toys R Us,” said Pat Smola, office administrator at the agency, who added that “Santa’s Room’s my baby.” She said it’s a place where some of the agency’s clients who have financial difficulties can pick out toys to give to their children on Christmas morning.

“Everybody is struggling these days,” Smola said. “We just want them to have a fabulous holiday.”

Many of the donated toys come from the Burbank Fire Department, but Tuesday’s delivery was made up of donations mostly collected at Moose Lodge 652 on Burbank Boulevard. Page Moseley, a former governor of the lodge, said it’s the seventh year of an annual toy drive.

“Everybody got really excited this year,” Moseley said. “I would put this year up with one of our best years.”

Moseley said the typical haul in recent years has been around 400 toys, but one year reached a record 700.

“Next year, we’re going to hit 1,000,” he said.

The toys — including skateboards and Tonka trucks — as well as many books were collected at a series of events at the lodge, including an ugly Christmas sweater party and a Dec. 6 concert that featured Moseley’s band Schmang-A-Dang and a band made up of students from the Waverly School in Pasadena.

The concert drew more than 100 people, Moseley said, and “filled up the dance floor.” Instead of a cover charge, attendees were asked to donate an unwrapped toy. He said he also collected about 30 toys at his office and even received a couple donations from as far away as North Carolina and Georgia.

In addition to the toys donated to the Family Service Agency, Moseley said the concert raised $400 that went to the Mooseheart Child City and School near Chicago, a home for children and teens operated by Moose International.

“There’s good people everywhere,” Moseley said. “A lot of people step up to help.”

Laurie Bleick, executive director of the Family Service Agency, said activities like the toy drive and other efforts throughout the community inspire others during the holiday season.

“These kinds of little miracles happen every day in Burbank,” Bleick said, adding that such events also provide an opportunity to raise awareness about the work the agency does not just at Christmas, but throughout the year.

The agency provides counseling care, education and advocacy at low or no cost and operates transitional housing facilities for battered women, homeless families and emancipated youth. Bleick said it’s Burbank’s primary care provider for domestic violence services.

“These families struggle every day,” Bleick said. “This is not a one-day deal, this is an everyday deal.”

But Smola said it makes all the effort worth it when she sees the reaction of clients who visit Santa’s Room and realize the kindness being shown to them to make their holiday possible.

“When you see the tears [of joy], you know you’ve hit home,” she said.