NORTHAMPTON — With one hand temporarily out of commission from surgery, Karrisa Fabin used her other hand to sift through a table of toy trucks, and her left foot to kick her box of finds, including a dinosaur hobby horse, forward through the labyrinth that was the annual Toy Exchange.
Fabin was among more than 70 people who were waiting outside Northampton High School for the clock to strike 11 a.m. for the free shopping to begin. The annual event returned this year to the new location after being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s exchange was sponsored by the Northampton Kiwanis Club, with the high school’s Environmental and Key clubs taking on the management role.
Like many others, Fabin, of Haydenville, is no stranger to the event. She said she’s been attending the exchange for at least five years now. As she scanned the room, she spotted a few items that she was pretty sure she had picked out a few years back and donated them the following year.
“My kids will play with this for maybe a year and I’ll bring it back next year,” Fabin said. “It’s like the Black Friday of recycling, ya know?”
Also waiting in line Saturday morning were Steve LaCroix and his three daughters, 14-year-old Anna, 12-year-old Eliza LaCroix, and 2-year-old Saoirse Mulkerrins. The night before, the family donated items like some fairy wings and a sprinkler for the yard that has waving arms. During their shopping spree, the family was on a lookout for wooden toys.
Peter Rakelbusch, one of the event’s longtime coordinators, said that ideally, families can keep passing on the toys or books without any financial investment.
“If somebody invested in baby and toddler stuff first, brand new, they could then bring that back and upgrade to the next grade of school and then bring that back and upgrade and bring that back … and so you’ll never have to spend any money,” Rakelbusch said.
The exchange first started when three women decided to swap toys with friends in the community room of the former Feiker School, said David Starr, who serves as the treasurer of the Kiwanis Club, faculty advisor for the Key Club and parent advisor for the Environmental Club. The city took over the event after its first year and expanded it to the larger community, he said.
This year, Starr estimated that 3,500 toys were donated by 400 different donors. While shoppers were required to wear masks in order to enter the exchange, fire codes restrict the amount of people in the cafeteria at a time to 200.
“The hardest thing, like any store, is to try and keep things clean,” Starr said.
To ensure that there wasn’t a total frenzy, 50 people were admitted into the space when it first opened. The exchange was overseen by 20 volunteers. Audrey Johnson, president of the Key Club, noted that participation from all club members was mandatory as it was their first time managing the event.
“This is our first year working with the toy exchange, so it’s been a big thing to tackle,” she said. “It’s a really great cause. We’re recycling toys that could have potentially gone to a landfill and giving them to other kids.”
In addition to the numerous items on tables, the clubs organized a separate raffle with 24 different “big ticket” items.
The exchange also was a big focus for Environmental Club members, who were excited to be part of an event that provides new life for items that might have just sat in someone’s basement and help families who may not be able to afford brand-new toys, said Saenger Breen, co-president of the Environmental Club.
“It’s kind of like a big win-win for everyone,” Breen said. “It was a great cross-section for both clubs. For the Environmental Club, the focus was on the reuse and repurpose. The community service part was also great because you see everyone’s faces light up when they grab new toys, and it’s just a great thing to be a part of.”
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
