Guilford County Commissioner Carlvena Foster had a lot of praise for the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department at the Board of Commissioners meeting held just a few days before Christmas.

Foster was one of the lucky ones who got to see some very happy kids, who normally do not get a lot for Christmas, get presents from the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office “Fill The Bus” campaign.

By all accounts, it was a roaring success that brought a great deal of joy to those who distributed the toys, received the toys, or witnessed it all taking place.

The Sheriff’s department began collecting toys in November by encouraging county residents to bring out gifts to a bus that was parked at the Sheriff’s department headquarters in downtown Greensboro.

 The bus also went out to strategic locations in the county to make it more convenient for people to donate.

Each year, the toys are, with the help of community partners, distributed to children in the county who otherwise might not get much or even anything at all for the holidays.

This year’s effort was also greatly aided by, of all things, a foursome of county golfers on an 18-hole hot streak. Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston and  Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers played in the 5th Annual First Responders of the Triad Golf Tournament this year on a team that included attorney Marc Isaacson and Nathaniel Hargett III, the president and owner of Hargett Funeral Service, Inc.

The team came in first place – which meant the foursome could choose how to use the $25,000 that was donated from First Responders of the Triad, Inc. and Greensboro National Golf Club.

Half of that money went to feeding the hungry and the other half went to buying toys for the Fill the Bus effort.

 Between the money and the donated gifts there was plenty of Christmas joy to go around about a week before Christmas when the toys were distributed.

 “It was everything from TVs to bicycles, to scooters, to dolls and games  – whatever you could think of – and they were really nice toys,” Foster said of the presents at the Thursday, Dec. 21 commissioners  meeting.

She noted that the proceeds from the golf tournament helped make the toy drive extra special this year.

Foster, who’s the executive director of the Carl Chavis YMCA in High Point, got to see the smiles on some of the kids’ faces when they received the presents.

“The children were just amazed and were just really appreciative of being able to receive those toys,” she said.

About