Operation Friendship
Volunteers Ralli Archer, left, and Rafaela Anberg try to find the best option in a bin of toys during Operation Friendship distribution Saturday.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Dale Casebolt picks toys from a bin for distribution during Operation Friendship toy pickup day.
Jeni Roberts adds toys to a bag on Operation Friendship distribution day.
It’s a big box, but Sandi Casebolt maneuvers it into a bag for distribution at Operation Friendship toy pickup day.
MOSES LAKE — The volunteers circulated among the big cardboard boxes Saturday morning, consulting the notes on the clipboard, selecting a doll and a puzzle here, a game ball and toy cars there. The goal of Operation Friendship, sponsored by the Moses Lake Food Bank, is to empty the bins and get the toys into the hands of children for Christmas.
Moses Lake Food Bank Operations Manager Peny Archer said Operation Friendship had more than 300 children registered.
Operation Friendship has been around for a long time - at least 19 years, because that’s how long the Unchained Brotherhood motorcycle club has been raising money and collecting toys.
“And we enjoy it every year,” said UB member Gabriel Busick, known as Froto.
Zane Peterson, known as Redwood, said Moses Lake responded to the campaign.
“Money and toys combined, about $6,000 (in donations),” Peterson said. “Moses Lake was very giving again this year.”
Unchained Brotherhood members also volunteer on Distribution Day, handing out toys to the families. Way back in the back shop, Dale and Sandi Casebolt were part of the crew selecting the toys, a task they’ve performed for more than a decade.
“Twelve years for Dale and I,” Sandi Casebolt said.
They were joined this year by Jeni Roberts, a longtime food bank volunteer who’s a regular at the annual drive-through Thanksgiving distribution.
“I just random volunteer when I can,” she said.
Operation Friendship is an all-volunteer effort. Along with the volunteers who ran the toy drive, donated the toys and worked the distribution, members of the food bank staff volunteered to check the required paperwork for clients.
Archer said any toys that weren’t distributed Saturday will be available to clients until the food bank closes Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve still got a week,” she said Saturday.
Archer said she’d prefer not to carry inventory.
“I’d rather have these toys under a tree than in my back warehouse,” she said.
Toys will be distributed until they’re gone, she said. The food bank is located at 1075 W. Marina Dr. and is open from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com. Download more news like this by using the Columbia Basin Herald app – available for iOS and Android devices.
Editor’s Note: As reported earlier this week, the Moses Lake Food Bank will be closed the week of Dec. 26 in order to facilitate moving into a new location at the intersection of Grape Drive and State Route 17. The food bank is working to distribute food to clients that will last through the closure.
