ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- The countdown to Christmas is on, and in Chemung County, the Arctic League is hard at work to make sure no child goes without on Christmas morning. 

Volunteers with the Arctic League kicked off the first of 11 packing nights for the 2024 season, with inspiring efficiency. Volunteers with the Elmira Kiwanis Club, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) worked to begin packing the thousands of toys that will be delivered to children across Chemung County on Christmas Eve, lining up in an assembly line, filling bins with toys for young boys and girls. At the end of the line, more volunteers bagged up the toys in shiny red bags, tagged with each family who will receive them.

"So what we're doing tonight is taking the names of families who have already applied throughout Chemung county, and we're filling baskets and bags with toys based on the children's ages. So from one to 12, each child is getting a variety of gifts and some other items, hats and gloves and gifts like that, and those will be bagged up and prepared to be delivered by local volunteers or up in the outlying areas outside of the city of Elmira, our volunteer fire departments which are a big part of our distribution network," explained Arctic League treasurer, Mike Wayne.

One of Friday night's volunteers was this year's bell ringer, Clara Jones. Even at her young age, she understands the importance of giving back to her community, helping her mother with Friday night's packing night event. As the bell ringer, Clara also rang the bell at the opening of the Arctic League's "Big Book" - an enormous ledger book that keeps track of every donation made. 

"The Arctic League helps kids who may not have as much as other people do, so it basically helps those kids get presents for Christmas," Clara said.

The toys packed for children over the next two weeks were made possible by donations made to the Arctic League last year. This year, the organization has a goal of $175,000, which will go towards purchasing next year's gifts. The generosity of the community, both financial and with their time, have helped the Arctic League keep going for more than a century. 

"We’ve just got so many people who are eager to help, whether they are physically volunteering, we have many people that have been donating throughout the year, certainly this time of year, and it’s all to help put smiles on children's faces on Christmas morning. And for 112 years, we’ve been able to do it, and we see it lasting 100 more years to follow," Wayne said.

The final night of packing will be December 23rd. Volunteers are wanted to deliver gifts to homes in the city of Elmira on Christmas Eve. 

For families who still need to apply for gifts, the application window is still open. The online application form can be found here. 

To donate to the Arctic League, click here.