NC veteran makes wooden toys for children in need every Christmas
SANFORD, NC (WTVD) — For Jim Annis, Christmas is about giving.
The 80-year-old Army veteran has helped Santa out every holiday season for the past 50 years by creating wooden toys.
Annis spends most of his days carving, sculpting and sanding blocks of wood into toys.
“When the Salvation Army gives out the food and clothes to people in this area, I give out my toys,” said Annis. “It feels like you’re sort of forgotten about at Christmas time.”
Annis donates nearly 300 toys to the Salvation Army of Sanford. Other than the wooden scraps he gets from nearby homeowners, he pays for everything else out of pocket, but it’s not about the money. He remembers waking up Christmas morning with no gifts to open.
“Between the wheels and paint, I spent about $1000,” said Annis. “My dad he worked, but didn’t make a lot of money. It’s hard to have a big Christmas with five kids.”
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