Since 1944 Hobby Crafters has given toys to less fortunate children in the greater Dallas area. These fine toys are distributed through missions and churches at Christmas. Thus allowing the joy of the Christmas spirit to reach children who would, without the help of our elfin volunteers, have nothing for Christmas.
           How is this possible? Well, it's an interesting story, so pull up a chair and I'll tell you all about it. You see, the Hobby Crafters Foundation was founded back in 1944 by Dr. Arch McNeill. Doc was a Dallas physician who got an idea one day while making a house call to one of his patients, an older lady who lived on Irving Boulevard. She was a sweet lady who was well-known for having a pot of beans setting on the stove for anyone who came by hungry.
          Doc McNeill, seeing the need for some Christmas spirit, offered to craft some toys in his workshop for the lady to give out to the needy children at Christmas. So he got together with friends and patients, telling them of his plans to spread Christmas cheer. Work was started quickly to meet the rush of the upcoming holiday season. They worked tirelessly week after week to provide the disadvantaged children in the Trinity Bottoms with a handmade wooden toy for Christmas that first year. It was hard, but the smiles on the little faces were well worth it. 100 children were remembered by Santa! The following year there were 200 children that were found by Santa's helpers.
          Would you like to read the story of how it all got started? Please click "History of the Toy Shop" to read more.
           Since then, an everchanging group of dedicated volunteers keep the legacy alive. "We've got the greatest comradery you've ever seen in your life", said Jerry Reichert, Head Hobby Crafter Elf, "People who worked with us in the past have been as young as 8 or 10 years and as old as 85. And they all get along magnificently!" He continued, "We've had as many as 10,000+ handmade wooden toys per year made and distributed, just in time for Christmas, to the disadvantaged children of the Dallas area.
           On Thursday evenings between six and nine, we meet at Doc's old workshop. Our dedicated volunteers (who we tease about being our 'little elves') gather to build the toys needed for the next holiday season.
           We've even had a few chances to get noticed by the public. A few years back we were featured in Channel 4's 'Texas Country Reporter', as well as Channel 5's Evening News. There was even an article in the Texas Catholic entitled "Toy World - For Hobbycrafters, it's always Xmas". Would you like to read it? Please feel free to click on the title, it will take you to the story.
           As the funds and supplies decrease, the number of disadvantaged children increase. However, Doc's philosophy stays rock solid. Hobby Crafters continues to provide a handmade wooden Christmas toy to as many disadvantaged children as possible!
           Today, Hobby Crafters continues it's work, but has many urgent needs. A new location is required to meet the need for workroom expansion, updated equipment is needed to replace the antiquated tools currently being used, supplies are needed to meet the demand for this years' toys, and of course operating capital is always a concern.
           Although Doc McNeill and his generous donor friends have passed away to the great toy shop in the sky, the spirit of Christmas lives on in the work of our elf friends. "I just wish someone would adopt us and help us with our budget", said Mr. Reichert, adding that the benefits their gift can bring are high. "If you put a dollar into my cause, I'm going to come out with a dollar's worth of toys. There is no overhead, no salaries to pay because we're all volunteers", he said, "If you take the total number of toys that we put out and divide that by the number of dollars we spent, including the light bill, they cost $1.63 total. Can you imagine that?"
           But most of all we need dedicated volunteers who enjoy working with wood, tinkering with tools, and making a child's Christmas a little brighter. This year we need 10,000+ toys for the disadvantaged children to each receive a handmade wooden toy from Hobby Crafters! We need your help! Please come by, visitors are always welcome. And as Doc McNeill would say, "You really need to breathe more saw dust. Show up and see us this Thursday night."
           Don't know how to get here? We're at 7814 Forney Road in Dallas. If you'd like directions, as well as a personalized invitation, please feel free to contact the Head Elf, Mr. Jerry Reichert at (903) 887-7044, or email him.
            We even got one of the elves to take some pictures while we were working on Thursday night. Would you like to see them? Then please visit "OUR PICTURE PAGE".

           On February 19th of 2002, this website was built for the Hobby Crafters Foundation. The web mistress, Susan Reichert-Tuscana, donated her time and artistic talent to the Hobby Crafters so that the page could look it’s best. Susan said, “This is a charity that more people need to know about. Everyone works for free, so 100% of the donations are used to make toys for kids who really need them.” She continues, “I love the work they do, and really wanted to help, but I’m not able to get to the Thursday evening workshops. This web page is my way of donating to the Hobby Crafters. Why? Well, I guess that way down deep, I’m a elf at heart too.”

Donations	Our History
Request More Info	Elf Pictures

These pages were done by Susan Tuscana and are the property of Hobby Crafters Foundation. Do not use without express permission from both the above stated parties.