LIHU’E — Frank Kleckner of the Marine Corps League has been volunteering for the Toys for Tots program for the past three years, yet the spirit of aloha and giving still overwhelms him each year.
Kleckner, on hand with Gene Redden at the Salvation Army Lihu’e Corps during the pre-Christmas distribution of toys to needy Kaua’i children recently, said, “I love the people of Kaua’i.”
“They give, give, give,” said Kleckner, who spent time assembling bicycles at Ace Hardware, and greeting shoppers at Wal-Mart for the past three weeks. “There are some people who come back and give a toy each week. Kaua’i people have to be the giving-est people in the world.”
As families arrived to pick up their Christmas packages on Monday, Kleckner reflected on the past month.
Working with U.S. Navy personnel from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands near Kekaha on the Toys for Tots program, Kleckner said volunteers collected in excess of 3,000 toys for this year’s program, that number doubling from last year’s collection.
Smiles brighter than the morning sun lit the faces of children who tagged along with their mothers and fathers as they sheepishly peered from behind skirts and legs, and clung to arms until a bundle of Christmas-wrapped goodies appeared from inside the Lihu’e Corps hall.
Those smiles were contagious, as Kleckner himself could not help but smile, the children’s smiles his biggest reward for spending the time soliciting gifts from shoppers.
“They (the contributors) need to know,” Kleckner said. “They need to see how much joy their contribution creates.”
In addition to the Toys for Tots program, Capt. Mitham Clement of the Salvation Army added that they got gifts through the Lokahi program that kicked off immediately following their community Thanksgiving luncheon, the ongoing Angel Tree program that had trees located at Wal-Mart and the Kmart stores, and if that effort fell short, they received contributions of 500 food certificates from Foodland officials.
Clement said they also purchased certificates from Big Save in the event they did not have enough to take care of all the families that needed help.
In addition, Clement said the annual bell-ringer campaign generated additional revenues.
As Kleckner looked around the Lihu’e Salvation Army hall, whose pews were filled with gift-wrapped presents awaiting distribution, he said, “This is only about 1/10 of what we collected.”
Earlier this month, distribution of gifts was done to about 13 agencies in the community that serve needy families, and the Hanapepe Corps did their family distribution as well, that location taking over 1,000 gifts.
Kleckner stopped only briefly to help take care of another family arriving for their holiday package, but noted, “Maui had to use their check to purchase items that they couldn’t fill through community donations.
“Here on Kaua’i, we did not have to use our check to purchase any of our needs. It’s a great feeling to know that Kaua’i people can take care of their own,” said an emotional Kleckner.
“I love them all.”
Sports Editor Dennis Fujimoto may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or mailto:dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
