HE’S GOT GAMES—Congressman Elton Gallegly, right, tosses a basketball to district chief of staff Brian Miller, left, while working with friends and volunteers at a gift-wrapping party last month. More than 3,000 toys were collected for military families as part of the U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly and Friends Operation Toy Drop. The toys, along with 500 bicycles and tricycles, were donated to Naval Base Ventura County families that have a service member overseas this holiday season. IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers With stacks of toys and filled gift bags arranged in neat rows, U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly’s garage looked like Santa’s workshop.

Gallegly (R-Camarillo) and his wife, Janice, opened their hilltop Simi Valley home to about 30 volunteers one Saturday last month.

They formed an assembly line to pack red and green bags with a variety of toys and sporting goods to be distributed to about 750 boys and girls.

The annual effort, called U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly and Friends Operation Toy Drop, serves as a way to say thank you to the military families at Naval Base Ventura County, which includes Naval Air Station Point Mugu and the Seabees at Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme.

“The target is to say thank you to the children and families of the active and activated military, many of whom are already deployed, will be deployed or have been deployed,” said the congressman, who is serving his 13th term representing the 24th District.

With many military children missing dads or moms who are serving overseas this holiday season, Gallegly and Friends hopes the gesture will bring comfort and let the families know their sacrifice is appreciated.

“Just wishing all those kids a wonderful Christmas, especially with their parents gone,” said Moorpark resident Myrna Vafee, a congressional aide for Gallegly. “Their parents are doing something for us, so I think it’s important to do what we can for them.”

The annual collection by the congressman and his wife began about nine years ago when Matilda Ahearn, founder of the Military Families Food Bank at Naval Base Ventura County, asked the Galleglys to donate 100 turkeys.

The couple answered the call, and in the years that followed, donations of hams and potatoes were added.

This is the fourth year the Galleglys have also given toys.

“It started years ago where we’d do turkeys and hams—just food. And then we thought it would be fun to have a toy,” Janice Gallegly said.

“He always saw the kids standing in line (for the food) with their parent and thought, wouldn’t it be nice to do something for them and make their Christmas special?” added the congressman’s district chief of staff Brian Miller, a Simi native who’s worked for Gallegly for 21 years.

“We started out giving a toy per child,” Miller said. “It’s just grown from there. Now we give bags of toys.”

This year, each bag is filled with about five toys—sports balls, skateboards, scooters, remotecontrolled cars, water pistols and board games.

The 3,500 toys were sorted into 750 bags.

The Galleglys chose all the toys with the help of their 10 grandchildren.

“Elton and I go out shopping. We pick it up ourselves, nothing is ordered online,” Janice Gallegly said. “Elton was out all Thanksgiving doing the sales. . . . We go through with five different carts and all the grandkids go with us.”

“My wife and I have picked these (presents) out individually,” the congressman said. “That’s the most fun thing I do.”

The Galleglys’ 15-year-old granddaughter Savannah Payton, a sophomore at Moorpark High School, helped pack the presents on Saturday.

“They’re pretty cool. Even better than last year,” she said. “I like the Sorry game, that was my favorite. And the little stuffed animals for the little babies.”

Stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens and Dick’s Sporting Goods provide “substantial discounts” on the toys.

The Galleglys also purchased a total of 500 bicycles, tricycles and battery-operated quads. Each child will get a raffle ticket for a bike or a quad.

Though there are fewer bicycles than gift bags, the congressman said every child who wanted a bike last year got one.

The Galleglys still contribute food, donating 400 hams, 400 Marie Callender’s pies and 2,000 pounds of potatoes this year, which was distributed to the military families on Saturday.

Also on Dec. 3, Navy personnel transported the bikes, trikes, quads and gift bags to the Naval base.

On Sunday afternoon the gifts were presented, with Santa Claus arriving from the North Pole on an Air Force C-130.

“The day of the event, it’s amazing, rewarding, to see the looks on the kids’ faces,” Janice Gallegly said.

Miller agreed.

“It’s a fun thing to watch to kick off the Christmas season,” he said.