People

Hobby comforts children worldwide

Photograph by Jimmy Mayfield

Don Espeland and Verdis Bertram craft more toys for the world's children. The toy-making crew recently added magic wands to their wares.

Don Espeland has two passions: woodworking and Kiwanis. The two pastimes came together in 1996 when he began creating wooden objects to raise money for Kiwanis International’s campaign against iodine deficiency disorders. Later, he shared his woodworking passion with fellow Kiwanians, and the Grand Junction Golden K Kiwanis club of Colorado began producing furniture for a hospice facility and other charitable organizations.

Most recently, however, Don read a book about a nonprofit organization that makes wooden cars and trucks to ship to children overseas, and that inspired him to add toys to his club’s repertoire.

“I thought to myself, ‘Why can’t our club do the same thing on a local basis?’” Don says. Soon he and five other woodworking Kiwanians took up tools for the cause, and, after adding “magic wands” for girls, are leaving countless smiling children in their wake. Fellow Kiwanian Gordon Harbert of Harbert Lumber Company provides the wood.

“We distribute about 90 cars/trucks/wands per month to the police department, two hospitals, a homeless shelter, and a home dealing with (victims of) domestic violence,” Don says. “The police department uses them at accidents and scenes of domestic violence; the toys are to be given to children in serious pain or stressful situations. We also are sending a box of these toys to Iraq for distribution to children by soldiers assigned to a special affairs unit.

“This is truly a labor of love,” Don says.