Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Brenda Spencer, a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, left, and Jamie DeMain, director of volunteer and visitor services for Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley, sort through toy donations. Many Akron Children’s patients will be the recipients.

YOUNGSTOWN — The size of Jamie DeMain’s space may pale in comparison to that of Sam Walton’s co-finds, but both have undergone their own growing trends.

“My office is like a little Walmart. Pretty soon, it will be bigger than Walmart,” DeMain, the director of volunteer and visitor services for Akron Children’s Mahoning Valley in Boardman, said.

As the giant discount superstore and Sam’s Club, which Walton also co-founded, have grown monumentally over the years, DeMain’s office has grown over recent days and weeks. That’s because the space has been filled with donated toys with which she has been presented.

As a result, DeMain joined several members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.’s Tau Rho chapter and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s Kappa Nu Zeta chapter to wrap and package the donations Friday afternoon at Choffin Career and Technical Center. Also part of the holiday-themed effort was Choffin’s adult-education staff.

The gathering was to have taken place Monday, but was rescheduled for Friday because of inclement weather.

An estimated 1,100 dolls, board games, drones, battery-operated vehicles, Kindles, coloring books, boxes of crayons and other toys were being prepared for distribution mainly to Akron Children’s patients. Also part of the donations were hygiene kits that contained products such as toothpaste, body lotion, deodorant, soap and shampoo.

The kits were essential largely because they provide needed daily items to patients whose hospital stays may have been longer than expected, DeMain said, adding that many of the patients are admitted without such necessities.

The hospital accepts those who are newborns to age 21, “so there really is something for everyone,” she added.

Beyond being a short- or long-term source of enjoyment and holiday cheer, the toys’ larger meaning lies in the realization that they often have a calming effect on children who are under a lot of stress or are undergoing trauma. The gifts also have the power to remind the recipients they are cared for and thought of, DeMain said.

“It’s about giving back to the community. Akron Children’sHospital reached out to us and said, ‘We are running out of toys,'” Sherry Cross, Choffin’s adult-education director, said.

Even though many Choffin students have limited means, they felt compelled to contribute to the effort, she added.

“(The toys) may seem small to us, but they’re a big deal to children at Akron Children’s Hospital,” Cross said, adding, “Any time you give back, you give to yourself.”

“I hope the kids enjoy that they’re being given something new, and to know that people in the community haven’t forgotten them,” Brenda Spencer, a sorority member, said.

Too many young people receive few, if any, gifts on Christmas, so Friday’s toy drive can be a powerful way to brighten their day and holiday season, added Spencer, who also is a member of New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown. In addition, the effort will give those receiving the items an opportunity to later reflect on the fact that people in the community — even strangers — cared enough about their well-being, she said.

DeMain noted that the hospital also accepts such donations year-round. To make a contribution, call Akron Children’s at 330-746-8352, or visit www.akronchildrens.org and click on “Donate toys & gifts.”