The Happy Factory

Last Wednesday, the ladies in our Relief Society got to go help out at The Happy Factory. It's something I'd always wanted to do, so I juggled all our different schedules to be able to make it work. I don't know if any of you remember the show Three Wishes that aired in 2005, but The Happy Factory was featured on it. They received new equipment, a new car and a trip to deliver some of their toys to South America in person.

Donna Cooley lives right down the road from me and has had this charity going on for years. She and her husband Charlie started building little wooden cars and trucks out of donated scrap wood and sending them to impoverished children all around the world. The whole thing is run with grants and donations, 100% of which go straight to the production of the toys.

 

That's Donna in the plaid shirt. She is the sweetest lady. Her husband actually passed away a couple of years ago, but she has kept things running at full pace.

 Here's a list of the countries Happy Factory toys have gone to, as of November 2012.

 There's pictures and letters everywhere. Serious warm fuzzy stuff.

 

These are the cars we were finishing by painting them with mineral oil. They are so simple, but inspire imaginative play, and for most of the recipients, this is the only real toy they'll ever have!

They make some awesome steam shovel sand diggers, too. I wish I could buy one.

 

I saw a glass box in Donna's office displaying their one millionth toy. (wow) "To date, over 1,140,000 Happy Factory toys have been given to more than 600 different organizations, groups and people in 180 countries. No Happy Factory worker makes a dime and the gifting is still gathering momentum" (from their website)

 At the end, Donna got up and said how much she loves our ward, and thanked us for coming. She then gave each of us one of these precious elephants with leather ears to take home. They were made by her late husband and they are some of the last things they worked on together. I almost started crying...

I'm glad I got to go volunteer, and hope we'll get to go back soon. It's nice to know there are still such amazing, positive people out there who are making a real difference.