Toys

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- It's not too late to buy a toy and put it in the bed of the Burbank Fire Department toy wagon in the front lobby of the Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters. The wagon, salvaged by firefighters and built into a miniature fire truck, will collect donated toys throughout the holidays, and department staff will take the toys to local agencies, which will distribute the items to children in need. The lobby is open from 8 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but toys can be taken to any of the six fire stations around town.

DOWNTOWN — Police officers scooped up about 500 toys Monday and placed the items in the back of a sport utility vehicle that was headed off to the Burbank Temporary Aid Center’s Santa Room. The Burbank Police Department and Holiday Inn donated the toys, which the hotel collected, to give to low-income families that receive aid services from the center. The toys, along with other donations, will be given to about 250 to 300 low-income or homeless families this holiday season, center Executive Director Barbara Howell said.

THEATER REVIEW It isn't often that the star of a show is not an actor, but in the Colony Theatre Company's presentation of "Toys in the Attic," the buzz was all about the incredible set and props designed by Tom Buderwitz, Chuck Olsen and crew. Lillian Hellman's semi-autobiographical tale sprawls across a homey-looking front porch, and a living room, complete with piano. It's as if a small New Orleans house had fallen smack in the middle of the stage.

The Colony Theater's Showcamp theater group for youth is putting on its final holiday performances today and Thursday.Waiting in the wings of the Colony Theater on Monday, 13-year-old Lily Miloccaro peered out from inside a bulbous costume. She is the 7-ball in a cast of misfit toys. "It's like a messed-up 8-ball that gives bad advice," she explained. Lily is performing this week in the latest production from "Showcamp", a theater company that hones the talents of Burbank's youngest stars.

On Dec. 20, Victory Tabernacle hosted a Toys for Tots service at 10:30 a.m. for the second time. The purpose of this event was to give toys to the underprivileged during Christmastime. This year, the church was blessed to have been able to give out 200 toys during the service and another 200 toys on the Monday after the service. The local church family also provided a free dinner for all of the families with food graciously donated by the local Ralphs. One of the best parts about the service was the presence of three Marines.

When a mother has a baby, she often throws a party to celebrate. Blaire Dollinger opened a store. ?A couple of years ago I was really, really sick,? said Dollinger, 40. ?I had cancer, and they weren?t sure after my treatment if I could even get pregnant.? But after overcoming her illness, the owner of newly opened Magnolia Park store Totz Only decided to give pregnancy a shot. ?I got pregnant on the first try, so he?s kind of our miracle baby,? she said of her 11-month-old son, Jackson.

What started as a curiosity led to a career for GI Joe collector James DeSimone of Burbank. It was 23 years ago, while glancing through the Recycler, DeSimone saw an ad about a collector searching for GI Joe dolls. So, he called the collector and asked him why. The man explained that the 4-inch-tall action figures had replaced the 12-inch doll from the 1960s, like the one that DeSimone had when he was a kid. Just to see for himself, DeSimone went to a Toys R Us to check out the smaller version.

Children sitting on their parents’ shoulders waved and yelped gleefully Friday night as the festively decorated Metrolink Holiday Toy Express rolled into Burbank and Glendale, bringing with it some visitors from the North Pole. The 450-ton train was decked out in more than 50,000 twinkling lights and nine animated reindeer heads that talked and sang holiday music. Despite the chilly weather, hundreds of people went to both train stops to get a glimpse of the brightly lit train and watched a free holiday show featuring a singing “Santa hog” and holiday carolers.

Comprehensive Financial Services, a Burbank-based organization, held a toy drive to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank. On Dec. 10, 160 employees with Comprehensive Financial Services presented the collected gifts. Days later, the Boys & Girls Club welcomed a visit from Santa on Dec. 16. Assemblyman Mike Gatto also paid a visit with volunteers from Bank of America to give away over 150 gifts.    

Hoping for a gift in this season of giving, about 30 needy people, mostly women, waited patiently for the doors to open at the Salvation Army near downtown Burbank Thursday morning. Ana and Tony Tamayo of North Hollywood said they heard about the Salvation Army's program to provide food and other items for Christmas through friends, and this year, they needed the extra assistance. “We lost our apartment, we lost our jobs, we're unemployed,” Tony Tamayo said in Spanish. “This helps us give something to our children.” The giveaway has happened every year since the Salvation Army opened its doors in Burbank in 1957, said Lt. Kari Rudd.

The Walt Disney Co. rode World Cup soccer, "Toy Story 3" and careful cost controls to increased revenue and profitability in the third quarter of 2010, according to the latest earnings reports released Tuesday. Revenues topped $10 billion for the Burbank-based entertainment giant, an increase of 16% over the same quarter the prior year. Net profit was also up 40% to $1.33 billion, the company reported. The studio entertainment unit saw $123 million in profits after taking a $12-million loss in the same quarter a year ago. "Toy Story 3," which has earned an estimated $900 million worldwide, led the charge.

The Glendale Centre Theatre?s goal has always been to produce quality plays with a ?Gee? rating. As in ?Gee whiz. Gosh darn. That was a pretty good show, honey.? Believe it or don?t, that?s the kind of thing you?ll hear the grown-ups saying in the lobby at the 8 p.m shows. So there?s no age-appropriate issue for parents who want to bring the older kids along at night, unless someone forgot to take a nap. When it comes to the kids bringing the parents along, the reverse is not always true.

Thousands of toys for hundreds of families — it’s a ratio that just a week ago seemed improbable after Metrolink canceled its Holiday Toy Express due to bad weather. But after Burbank firefighters issued a plea for help to make the difference in their “Spark of Love” toy drive campaign, the community responded in a big way. The outpouring translated into roughly 2,000 toys for about 700 families who, like so many households in this recession, saw their ability to play Santa severely diminished or erased by lost jobs or reduced work hours.

On Dec. 20, Victory Tabernacle hosted a Toys for Tots service at 10:30 a.m. for the second time. The purpose of this event was to give toys to the underprivileged during Christmastime. This year, the church was blessed to have been able to give out 200 toys during the service and another 200 toys on the Monday after the service. The local church family also provided a free dinner for all of the families with food graciously donated by the local Ralphs. One of the best parts about the service was the presence of three Marines.

HOTEL COLLECTS TOYS FOR ARMY The Salvation Army, Burbank Corps Advisory Board met on Dec. 17 for a Christmas luncheon meeting at the Holiday Inn, Media Center in Downtown Burbank. After the luncheon, the hotel management presented Capt. Mario Ruiz with more than 200 toys to be distributed to 400 needy families during Christmas week. Toys were donated by the employees and staff of the Holiday Inn. They also donated food to the army during Thanksgiving week. Among those attending the presentation were Chris Haven , general manager; Ericka Hoffmann , chief executive officer; and Lynn Yeretzian , director of food and beverage.

A last-minute push from firefighters and the community helped the Family Service Agency of Burbank meet a record demand from families in need of holiday toys, officials reported. Firefighters in the days leading up to Christmas Eve dropped off more than 1,000 action figures, dolls and board games, filling a room inside the agency’s Burbank Boulevard office to the ceiling. In all, about 2,000 toys awaited the rush of 700 families, organizers said. The toy-store-like scene inside “Santa’s Room” elated Pat Smola, an agency employee who began organizing toy giveaways seven years ago and has done so every year since.

In a holiday season marked by sharp reductions in toy donations as the number of families seeking assistance rose, the largest toy giveaway in the Glendale-Burbank area didn’t disappoint. The line outside New Horizons Family Center’s 15th annual toy drive, held Saturday at the organization’s youth center, snaked around the block as dozens of volunteers gave action figures, race cars and board games to more than 3,500 children. “I got exactly what I wanted,” said Ramon Sanchez, of Burbank, who took home a Razor kick scooter.

DOWNTOWN — Local firefighters say they’re struggling to fill orders for toy donations in the wake of Metrolink’s decision to cancel a main collection drive last week. Because of rain, officials said logistics prevented the annual Metrolink Holiday Toy Express, where residents donate hundreds of unwrapped toys for needy families, from being rescheduled. That took what little wind there was out of the sails for local fire departments, which depend on the brightly decorated train and musical performances to spur toy donations from the community for the “Spark of Love” campaign.