Glenwood firefighters delivered toys and food to about a dozen families with young children this week.

The drive to help needy families began nearly 20 years ago and is among the Southland’s most generous and heartfelt holiday community traditions.

“It’s surprising how many people are living in need right now,” fire Chief Kevin Welsh said.

Grateful family members welcomed firefighters into their homes. Excited children watched as teams of men carried boxes and bags of goods into living rooms and kitchens.

“It’s going to help a lot. We didn’t have much,” said Joanne Taylor, a grandmother who held open a front door as a parade of firefighters delivered gifts for her grandsons, ages 7 and 4. “They did this last year for us, also. It’s very nice.”

The Glenwood Firefighters Association organizes the annual food and toy drive. The private group is a nonprofit organization that functions like a charitable foundation.

“With most parents, you see tears. They’re grateful about it,” said firefighter Dejuan Woods, an officer with the association.

The effort reflects a spirit of helping and sharing in the community of about 8,600 residents. Glenwood is located mostly between Halsted Street and Illinois 394, between Homewood and Chicago Heights.

The food and toy drive requires a tremendous amount of work. The annual tradition gets underway before Thanksgiving each year when donations are solicited.

“I think everybody in the community now kind of expects it,” Welsh said. “We place a flyer on every resident’s door in mid-November with a collection date for early December.”

Collection day was Dec. 11 this year. People place donated items at the end of their driveways. Fire trucks, ambulances and other Fire Department vehicles roll through town and firefighters pick up items.

Meanwhile, the Glenwood Firefighters Association gets in touch with schools, churches and other organizations to identify families in town that are seeking help.

“Teachers know students the best,” said Fire Lt. Randy Glover. “They know what the kids are lacking because they see them every day.”

The association follows up by visiting homes to check on conditions and talk with family members.

“The kids have to live in Glenwood,” Glover said. “We do a home interview to make sure they’re really in need.”

The interviews help identify how many children are in a home, whether they are boys or girls, and what their interests are. That helps match donated toys with children.

Once collected, donated items are brought to the John H. Blakey Senior Center on Rebecca Street. Association members sort donated items and stack them on tables, where gifts are matched with a family.

“It’s a great thing,” Welsh said. “Some people give money. If there’s a family where little Johnny really wanted a bicycle and we don’t get one, we’ll go to Walmart and we’ll buy one.”

A room in the senior center was piled high with boxes of food and toys. There were Legos, trucks, Barbie dolls, Play-Doh, Crayola crafts and board games.

There were cans of soup and vegetables, bottles of cooking oil, bags of flour and sugar and boxes of cereal, spaghetti and pancake mix. There were chips and other snacks and juice boxes and other drinks.

“We always include with all the nonperishable food, we try to get a ham and a bag of potatoes, something that can sustain, to give them a meal,” Welsh said.

Walsh has been the town’s fire chief for 27 years, he said. The annual toy and food drive started small when it began nearly 20 years ago and has evolved over time, he said. Initially, firefighters collected donations of clothes in addition to food and toys.

“We found that we had such an overabundance of clothing that nobody would take it,” he said. “It was people cleaning out their closets. It was a good way to do it. People felt good about themselves.”

The toy drive is a wonderful community tradition. Children grow up. Families might have toys, sporting goods and other items in good condition that are gathering dust because kids have outgrown them.

This year firefighters are going above and beyond to help a family, Welsh said.

“It’s a young lady with two small children in school,” he said. “It’s a house with just about nothing in it. She’s on her own. They’re actually picking up a Christmas tree, they’re going to decorate the house, they’re bringing furniture. It’s a big one. This is really heartwarming.”

Glenwood’s annual drive is about neighbors helping one another and public servants putting in a lot of extra work to help people in their community. When the effort began many years ago, firefighters would distribute all the donated items on one night, Welsh said.

This year, deliveries were planned over four days this week. Firefighters picked up items from the senior center and packed vehicles. They hurry to complete their work because there is an ever-present chance that firefighter/paramedics might have to rush to an emergency call in the middle of a delivery.

I tagged along this week as they delivered to several homes. At one point, firefighters gathered to look at a phone for directions to the next destination. It reminded me of Santa Claus making a list and checking it twice.

Part of the reason it takes several days to distribute items to families is that the Fire Department doesn’t have as large a staff as it once did, Welsh said. Everyone is working harder, but seeing the smiles and tears on the faces of families receiving gifts makes the effort worth it.

“It’s hard to get everything going, but this is one tradition we’ve kept strong over the years,” Welsh said.

Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.

tslowik@tribpub.com