The true embodiment of Santa just might be Martha Davis.
Since 1998, she’s worked tirelessly through her Toy Rescue Mission to bring the Christmas spirit to low-income families throughout Pierce County. Known as “Miss Martha” to the scores of volunteers who work with her and the many families she helps, she reiterates time and time again what the mission truly is: “We deliver smiles. We want kids to be happy.”
Davis even dubbed her warehouse “The Smile Zone,” and it’s filled to the brim with toys, books, games, movies, and puzzles for kids of all ages. Parents sign up and provide proof of need, then arrive at a scheduled time to shop The Smile Zone with volunteers who guide them to choose the right gifts for their kids.
Every family goes home with a puzzle and their choice of a game or movie, “because we want them to be able to spend some family time together,” Davis said.
That’s not all: Davis and her volunteers help parents pick out stockings, stocking stuffers, gift wrap, and even decorations.
“We serve so many families that have just come out of homelessness,” Davis said. “They’re moving into an apartment for the first time, they don’t have Christmas trees, they have nothing to decorate with. Some don’t have the space for a tree. But they can take something small…and they can create their own décor for Christmas.”
Davis has even thought of gift presentation – she has a shrink wrap machine that volunteers can use to repackage donated toys “so that when that child opens it all they know is they’re going to pull the wrapper off, and it looks like it’s brand new.”
And every toy that needs them is attached with batteries, every coloring book comes with crayons, and every Barbie is packaged with accessories. It’s all part of Davis knowing the little things are actually pretty big to these families.
“What if your child got home on Christmas morning, opened up their Christmas present: remote control car, no batteries?” she pointed out. “I don’t want to have that family stressed or worried about, ‘I gotta go buy this. I gotta buy an extra thing.’”
Davis' Toy Rescue Mission operates year-round in Tacoma. She helps families through birthdays, Easter, and back-to-school.
We asked Davis where her drive comes from, and her answer is simple.
“Kids need more than just food, clothing, and shelter," she said. "And people don’t realize what toys do: toys teach. Children learn how to count – you gotta keep score. Children learn how to communicate, they have to talk to each other…you ride bikes, it’s motor skills. So toys are a lot more than what people think about.”