2017 Bimini Christmas Toy Drive

[Bruce]

Every summer some of us enjoy a trip to the amazing blue waters of @Bimini. There are approximately 500 children who live on the islands. Most of their families have little income and even less access to stores to buy Christmas presents for the children.

For the past four years the Vander Werf family has organized a toy drive to deliver presents to those children. Last year they delivered presents to 420 children in Bimini. I plan to contribute a few presents this year and thought some others might want to join me. They are focused on presents that do not use batteries as they are very difficult to obtain on the islands. They also operate a charitable foundation through which tax deductible donations can be made and used to purchase presents.

Last year may of us donated toys to these deserving children. You can read last years thread at https://jetboaters.net/threads/bimini-christmas-toy-drive.11881/. Pictures of the toy delivery are in this post https://jetboaters.net/threads/bimini-christmas-toy-drive.11881/page-4#post-207838

You can look at this post for ideas of the types of toys that were given last year https://jetboaters.net/threads/bimini-christmas-toy-drive.11881/page-4#post-206542 . Toys that do not require batteries are best as batteries are expensive in Bimini.

The toys will be delivered on 60+ foot Boondoggle who joined us at Honeymoon Harbor this summer.

Those that are interested can send presents to

Ken Vander Werf
4160 N Hwy A1A #901A
Hutchinson Island, FL 34949

The toys will be delivered December 16th so please get your donations delivered in advance of that date.

@Karie Vander Werf may be able to answer any questions that you may have.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

I am considering some STEM related books or toys to send this year. Basically some brain teasers to get them Hooked. Will this be okay @Bruce

 

[Bruce]

I am considering some STEM related books or toys to send this year. Basically some brain teasers to get them Hooked. Will this be okay @Bruce

@Karie Vander Werf, what are your thoughts on this?

Amar, I think books are great. I do have concerns about how much STEM education there is on Bimini.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Karie Vander Werf, what are your thoughts on this?

Amar, I think books are great. I do have concerns about how much STEM education there is on Bimini.

Hi Bruce. I see my kids play with toys for a few days and then discard them. I stopped buying toys at home but instead spend on things or events that really interest them. I am assuming that kids are the same everywhere except in Bahamas instead of a few days it will be a few months. I am wondering if we can collectively do something for the good of Bimini children instead of toys. Like buy things that will teach them skills and make them useful later on in life. We are all spending money anyway for the toys but wondering if there is something else better we can do that will equip them better to take care of themselves and their future.

As an example the hurricane really messed up the island. Anything we can collectively assist them with as a Christmas present ?

 

[Andy S]

Gifts sent, should be at @Karie Vander Werf house on Saturday.

Edit: Guess I should have read @Bruce post a little closer, this year the packages are to be sent somewhere different than last year.

 

[Bruce]

Gifts sent, should be at @Karie Vander Werf house on Saturday.

Edit: Guess I should have read @Bruce post a little closer, this year the packages are to be sent somewhere different than last year.

That is a very important point. Ken has moved north since last year. His new address is

Ken Vander Werf
4160 N Hwy A1A #901A
Hutchinson Island, FL 34949

 

[Bruce]

@Amar Nanduri, I understand your thinking but it is really difficult to give in other ways and expect it to get to the kids. With the Vander Werf Christmas Drive we know that they will arrive and deliver the gifts directly to the the children.

Next year perhaps we could consider a school supply drive. We could leave them at Bimini Sands or deliver directly to the schools while we are there.

 

[Andy S]

That is a very important point. Ken has moved north since last year. His new address is

Ken Vander Werf
4160 N Hwy A1A #901A
Hutchinson Island, FL 34949

I was able to correct the address before the order was processed.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Bruce thanks for the input. I did not think in those terms. Got beginner musical instruments. Hopefully some kids will fall in love with them.

I hope the shipping address is correct.

 

[Bruce]

This is Boondoggle who will be making the toy delivery with my family on Propless at her stern.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

That is a nice retirement boat

 

[Amar Nanduri]

@Bruce hi about a global notification on the forum for a toy drive donation ? I am sure lots of people don't mind contributing to a cause rather than shop and ship toys.

 

[Karie Vander Werf]

Hello everyone! I apologize that I haven't been on here to ask questions. I hadn't received any notifications - whoops!

Books are great! We love the musical instruments that were sent - AWESOME!

We are very far behind this year. We have less than 100 toys with 500 children expected to show up to the Christmas toy distribution. We have received 4 bikes - 2 girls, 2 boys. 4 Raz'r scooters. Drum set, guitar. We need smaller toys - sports equipment, stuffed animals, cars, trucks, puzzles, etc. Ages 2-12. We are happy to shop for you if you would like to send a monetary donation. The Vander Werf Family Foundation is a 501c3 charitable foundation so your donation is tax deductible. Please email at biminitoydrive@gmail.com or call Ken at 561-241-4202 for more information or if you have questions.

If you happen to be visiting Bimini December 16th, the Christmas show (the children put on a talent show) and distribution will be at the police station on North Bimini. We will be docked at Bimini Blue Water (Boondoggle) so stop by and say hi!

Thank you so much to all of you who have donated this year and in years past - we couldn't do this without you!

Karie

 

[bronze_10]

When is the deadline?

 

[Bruce]

When is the deadline?

I believe all donations have to be delivered to Ken by the 14th in order to make it onto the boat.

 

[Karie Vander Werf]

Yep! Boat leaves the 15th early and we have to have all toys documented on the 14th to get in through customs. =D

 

[Qhorse572]

Mike @bronze_10 & I have had our kids pick out things....they will be delivered between Dec. 10th - Dec. 13th. Looks like there should be 3 boxes. We can't wait to see the boat packed & all the pictures!

 

[Karie Vander Werf]

@Amar Nanduri, I understand your thinking but it is really difficult to give in other ways and expect it to get to the kids. With the Vander Werf Christmas Drive we know that they will arrive and deliver the gifts directly to the the children.

Next year perhaps we could consider a school supply drive. We could leave them at Bimini Sands or deliver directly to the schools while we are there.

There is a couple that does bring school supplies to the island every summer. They have been doing it for a very long time. The school does not have things like glue or art supplies and the high schoolers (?) are required to do a project that is judged on the national level and it must be made out of natural items such as drift wood, etc. We met them at the toy distribution last year but we lost their contact information. Hopefully we will catch them again and can try to coordinate!

Additionally, I would love to talk to the administrators to see if we can do something a little more global than individual toys - a playground? Sports court of some kind? I hope to talk to them while we are there this time and maybe when we are there longer in the summer.

 

[Karie Vander Werf]

We've had an amazing day with lots of monetary donations! Thank you all! With the preliminary totals from the donation boxes, we are looking at having to buy about 275 toys or so. With our goal of 5-10.00 per child, that leaves us with $1325-2750. We have gotten $625.00 in donations. If you would like to donate instead of sending toys, you can PayPal to biminitoydrive@gmail.com - use the friends and family option to avoid fees. Donations are tax deductible!

M Pender - we received your 3 Amazon boxes today! Thank you so much. For others who have sent Amazon gifts, unfortunately they do not tell us who they are from! We also do not have the space this year to lay them all out to get a grand overall picture so you can see if your gift is there. My dad has kept a running list so we will publish this soon so you can verify it was received (plus the tracking probably shows you as well).

Thank you all for your help this year! I know donations all over are down due to how terrible the disasters have been. Hopefully we will be able to maintain the joy for the children on the island despite all of this.

 

[Karie Vander Werf]

The distribution boxes are being picked up and the toys are inventoried. They are ready to head to the boat! We have a big shopping trip planned for tomorrow since we did not meet our goal of 500 toys. We will need to purchase about 250 toys. At $5-10 per kid - that’s $1250-2500. We’ve been overwhelmed with the generosity of monetary donations - we have received an astounding $1375.00! Can we make it to $2000? This makes an average of 8.00 per child.

Monetary donations are tax deductible - use the Friends and Family option on PayPal and send to BiminiToyDrive@gmail.com

The boat leaves Friday! Distribution is Saturday. We'll be bringing the drone and a few extra helpers for photos. Can't wait to share them with you all!