GAITHERSBURG, Md. — A local search and rescue team came out to the Kentlands Saturday on a collection mission for Toys for Tots.
Special deliveries were on the way to bring kids joy, on a vessel that’s big, bright and red, but floats on floodwaters rather than in the sky.
"Wow, we’ve been through such a difficult time in the last couple years and I love kids, and I know so many families are going through a really hard time," said Eleni Antoniou of Gaithersburg.
That’s why the team at Tidewater Disaster Relief, a search and rescue nonprofit, decided to "Fill the Boat" this season for Toys for Tots.
"Since we’re donating to Fairfax County, it’s going to go to underserved children in the county," said Tidewater logistics coordinator Costa Sardelis. "We’re partnered up with the Fairfax County Fire Department, they’ll be collecting the toys and then they do the distribution on December 16th."
Tidewater Disaster Response is a 9-person all-volunteer swiftwater rescue team, and they allowed kids to check out the trailer they pull around the country to help out communities after natural disasters
"We’ll park it alongside a building as the storm makes landfall and winds will come through and gust, and we sleep in there," Sardelis said. "We keep one person awake at night just to make sure that we’re safe."
People coming out were thrilled to play a part in a child’s Christmas, including the staff at Robert Frost Middle School who showed up with dozens of gifts.
"Kids are aware of what’s happening around them, sometimes more than adults think they are, and I think that programs like this allow everyone going home for the holidays to come back feeling festive and feeling taken care of," said Christina Sardelis.