Teddy Arbo’s Holiday Toy Party is an annual tradition in the Killington community. What started as a dinner party in 1986 where guests were asked to bring toys instead of a side dish has grown into something much bigger. The 38th annual party was held this year at The Foundry on Dec. 7.
“The purpose of my event is to raise awareness and help people in need for the holidays,” said Arbo. “It benefits veterans and people without the means for food and toys, and we want to support anyone who needs it.”
In the past 10 years, the event has gone from raising around $10,000 a year to much, much more, all thanks to individual donors who bring toys, local businesses donating items to be auctioned off, and generous cash donations.
This year, nearly $40,000 was raised for local charities. Killington Resort is one of the largest single donors to the event and each year. This year, members of the leadership and management team at Killington assembled 30 bikes to be donated to four local organizations including Killington Elementary, The Open Door Mission, The New Story Center and the Rutland County Parent Child Center.
At the Rutland County Parent Child Center, they serve about 650 kids and 300 families in total. “The donation from Teddy Arbo is how we do Christmas,” said Executive Director Corissa Burnell. “Teddy’s been supporting us for a number of years and without him we wouldn’t be able to support this many families. He’s very good to us.”
The Open Door Mission in Rutland has been around for over 60 years, providing the largest emergency shelter in the state with 51 beds and the first long-term veterans shelter in the state.
“Kids that come from some of these families would not be able to ride a bike and don’t get the stuff most kids have,” said Executive Director Tammy Duclos. “It just means a lot to these kids because they really have nothing. We call you guys and Teddy Arbo our Santa Claus.”
That sentiment was echoed by Avaloy Lanning, executive director of The New Story Center. “It means so much not only to the people we serve, but to our staff. You know, we deal with hard stuff every day because we serve survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking and their children,” said Lanning. “Lives are hard and it’s hard to hear their stories. To be able to do something like give a bike to a kid for Christmas brings us joy. Seeing mom’s face when we give the bike to mom to be able to give to her kid on Christmas morning is beautiful. It’s some sort of normalcy that is returning to the lives of the people we serve and that’s a beautiful thing. We are so appreciative.”
