CarnivalWarehouse.com
Chicago Area Concessionaires Donate Toys to Newtown, CT
Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Three independent concessionaires drove a truckload of 3,000 new toys to Newtown, Conn. to help grieving families affected by the shootings that left 26 dead in that city, including 20 children.
 
Games vendors Peter Kasin and his nephew Kevin Kasin, and food operator Dave Jaros, all members of the Showmen's League of America, delivered the toys early Wednesday morning after driving through the night from Greater Chicago to Connecticut. They met with Newtown police who helped them distribute the toys within the community. The three men then turned around drove right back to Chicago to beat a winter storm.
 
The whirlwind trip covered 2,000 miles and a total of 34 hours' driving time, Peter Kasin said.
 
"I just felt like doing something to help out," said Kasin, whose family books games with Skinners' Amusments. "It was such a tragedy."
 
Ideal Toy Co., a carnival novelty supplier, provided all the toys and paid for one-third of the items. The Showmen's League covered the costs of the remaining toys and are conducting a fund-raising campaign among its membership to defray its expenses, Kasin said. Members donating $200 to the cause will have their names inscribed on a special plaque commemorating the cause.
 
The total value of the 3,000 toys was about $5,000, Kasin said.
 
The Newtown shootings hit home for the Showmen's League. The Dec. 14 incident happened the same morning as the group's annual holiday party for Hanson Park Elementary School students in Chicago. This year marked the 65th annual party with 15 live acts and free popcorn, soda and cotton candy given to the school kids. The party went on as scheduled at the insistence of Hanson Park officials, Kasin said.