Toys

The Newport Beach Recreation and Senior Services Department is collecting toys for the Costa Mesa-based nonprofit Serving People in Need. Donors can bring wrapped toys appropriate for children — from infants to 17 years old. The toys will be given to children of Orange County's homeless and working-poor families. Donations can be made at the department office at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., by Dec. 14. —Mike Reicher Twitter: @mreicher

On Saturday, members of the Harbor Mesa Lions were Santa's helpers at the Westside Boys & Girls Club. Some 150 children chose their gifts for family members and themselves from donated toys and presents. Earning credits throughout the year to shop with by completing homework assignments, each child was given a large plastic bag in which to gather the toys to be wrapped. Approximately 1,100 gifts were wrapped by the Lions club members. "This is a big day for the kids and our members," said Harbor Mesa Lions President Jennifer Kelder.

Ted Shaffrey NEWPORT BEACH -- Newport Beach Yacht Club president Terrance Phillips can't wait for the Marine Corps to drop anchor tonight. "I'm up to my ears in toys here," Phillips said. "Everywhere I look, I see toys." The 377 members of the yacht club have managed to collect nearly 2,000 toys for the Marine Corps' annual Toys for Tots program, including everything from bicycles to Lego sets. "If you brought in a toy, you got a free drink at the bar," Phillips said, pointing to that temptation as the reason the drive was so successful.

Bearing toys and plenty of pizza, teens from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach returned Saturday to the hills above Tijuana, one year after the home there for abandoned children nearly closed for lack of food. The volunteers shared much-needed playtime with the 60 kids, most left behind by prostitute and drug-addicted mothers. The church group accidentally discovered the orphanage last December, and has since raised money and lent manpower to keep El Centro Cristiano alive.

Danette Goulet COSTA MESA - By this time last year, the office at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen was piled high with holiday gifts for needy children. But this year, there is plenty of room in the office. Just three boxes sit in one small stack. "I'm pushing the [panic] button here. We have no toys," said Merle Hatleberg, the soup kitchen's founder and director. "This time last year the place was filled." Hatleberg is sending out a distress call to the community, asking for donations of unwrapped toys so a 14-year tradition may continue.

Alicia Robinson Before Legos or Erector sets, maybe even before wooden blocks, people made toys out of paper. Marilyn Scott-Waters is hoping to create a resurgence of the old-school toys with a new book she designed. She runs a popular website featuring her paper toy designs, and she recently published a book of them, which can be bought online and in two area stores. A painter and graphic designer, Scott-Waters used to work in the corporate world, jetting around the globe as an art director for a Nike subsidiary.

The Mesa Verde Convalescent Hospital will serve a spaghetti dinner to raise money to buy toys for kids at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Moved by the sadness of children spending their Christmas in the hospital, the men and women at the Costa Mesa facility are holding the meal in their dining room Dec. 7 with seating times at 2, 3, 4 and 5 p.m. Activities Director Joyce Rivera planned the event, which is the first of its kind at the convalescent hospital. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $8.50 for children younger than 12. They can be purchased in advance by calling (949)

The city of Newport Beach is collecting new, unwrapped toys for the families of U.S. troops this month. The toy drive is part of Operation Christmas for Our Troops, a program founded in 2004 and sponsored by the California State Legislature, the National Guard of California and the nonpartisan troop support organization Yellow Ribbon America. Organizers also will accept donations of new or used DVDs as part of the drive. The past three Operation Christmas campaigns collected about 100,000 toys, DVDs and gift cards for California military families.

Every year for the past 23, John Blom and the staff of his Corona del Mar photography studio get ready for Christmas in October. During that month, Blom offers clients a free children’s sitting in exchange for a donation to the Toys for Tots campaign. Blom got involved with Toys for Tots through the Corona Del Mar Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk the first Sunday in December. The studio has donated about 2,000 toys to the event during past years.

Posted on the back wall of the Westside Branch of the Boys & Girls Club at Rea Elementary School are lists of names of about 180 students with homework scores that could reap Christmas presents. If there are any presents to give. Volunteers at the organization are trying to gather gifts to provide for the children and their families before the annual Dec. 15 gift event. Branch director Steve Lampron said gifts usually come at the last minute, but the slumping economy has caused concerns.

When he's not working as a paramedic for the Orange County Fire Authority, Steve Islava invents devices that prevent physical and emotional injuries. Twenty-five years ago, after delivering a Spanish speaker's baby, he created a handbook of crucial Spanish phrases for English-speaking EMTs and firefighters. Then came an easy-to-use ladder used for escaping a fire-engulfed home. And there was also an inflatable splint. But with his latest creation - a neon-orange toy named Laffy Laffalot - the Newport Beach resident is using a portion of the sales to raise money for cancer research.

The blaring noise from some children's toys may have worse side effects than driving parents crazy. Researchers from UC Irvine's otolaryngology department found that some trendy toys — like the Road Rippers Lightning Rods and the I Am T-Pain Mic — reach decibel levels similar to a subway train or chain saw. Researchers measured 10 popular toys' loudness by holding them next to a speaker and from 12 inches away, which...

The Newport Beach Recreation and Senior Services Department is collecting toys for the Costa Mesa-based nonprofit Serving People in Need. Donors can bring wrapped toys appropriate for children — from infants to 17 years old. The toys will be given to children of Orange County's homeless and working-poor families. Donations can be made at the department office at City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd., by Dec. 14. —Mike Reicher Twitter: @mreicher

Patrick's Pub in Costa Mesa is sponsoring Someone Cares Soup Kitchen's annual Christmas toy drive. The restaurant, 2645 Harbor Blvd., is accepting new, unwrapped toys until Dec. 22. The business is open at noon Monday through Saturday and at 9:30 a.m. Sundays. You can contact the bar at (714) 966-2721. — Joseph Serna Twitter: @JosephSerna

WEDNESDAY College Fair Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, will have a college fair featuring recruiters from the University of California, Cal State University and other campuses. The event is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the OCC Watson Hall Courtyard. The event is free and is also open to high schoolers and members of the community. Christopher Cox Christopher Cox, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and ex-Republican congressman, will give a presentation, "Unhealthy Balance Sheets: The New Systemic Risk," at a meeting of the Risk Management Assn.

A universal truth is that girls love animals. So when the girls from Orange County Troop 871 brainstormed ideas for their next service project, their leaders, Trish Anastos and Lori Miskell, knew the project must involve helping cute, cuddly animals with big brown eyes. Nearly 200 hours and several badges later, these 10 fifth-grade girls from Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast, Irvine and Huntington Beach earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award after completing a project that could be considered a trifecta of service: Scouts support a therapeutic riding center, the riding center rescues horses with big brown eyes, and the horses provide a means for therapy for developmentally disabled children and adults.

Many of us have fond memories of playing with Legos. The small, colorful, interconnecting blocks allowed us to stretch our imagination, use our creativity, and develop our fine motor skills. From mini figures to rubber wheels and everything in between, you can make just about anything with Legos. Legos are considered a classic children's toy. Now it is also easy to find books, video games and movies featuring this popular toy. "The LEGO Book" by Daniel Lipkowitz will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Legos.

COSTA MESA — While responding to a call, firefighter Todd Palombo noticed that a mother of two was in need of more than medical attention. Firefighters and paramedics were tending to Amanda Ritchie when Palombo found out her 2-year-old, Jordan, sleeps on the couch every night. Ritchie, her husband and their two daughters moved in with her mother-in-law and grandmother after leaving Idaho a month ago. For the 10th year, Costa Mesa firefighters played Santa's helpers and distributed gifts, clothing and other necessities to families like Ritchie's.

On Saturday, members of the Harbor Mesa Lions were Santa's helpers at the Westside Boys & Girls Club. Some 150 children chose their gifts for family members and themselves from donated toys and presents. Earning credits throughout the year to shop with by completing homework assignments, each child was given a large plastic bag in which to gather the toys to be wrapped. Approximately 1,100 gifts were wrapped by the Lions club members. "This is a big day for the kids and our members," said Harbor Mesa Lions President Jennifer Kelder.