On Friday morning, Vidant Beaufort Hospital held its Toys for Tots drive finale in the hospital lobby where employees donated more than 700 toys for children in need.

The toys were then transported to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church distribution center in Washington.

Toys for Tots is a program founded by the United States Marine Corps and collects donations to give to children of families in need during the holidays.

Pam Shadle, manager of marketing and public relations at Vidant Beaufort, said the hospital has supported Toys for Tots for years, but last year marked the start of a new tradition.

She said Lou Montana-Rhodes, vice president of patient care services, came up with the idea to turn the annual toy drive into a competition between departments at the hospital in an effort to raise more donations. The competition has had a theme both years, and this year it was focused around educational toys.

Shadle said the departments don’t show how many toys they have collected until the big reveal at the finale. Groups are judged based on the height of their stack of toys and the quantity. This year’s winners were Wilford’s Elves from the medical intensive care unit (ICU), who as a group donated more than 250 toys.

“The Toys for Tots boxes (around the hospital) do not fill up,” Shadle said with a laugh. “They’re hoarding toys in their offices. They’re not going to show their cards until the day of.”

She said groups from the Vidant medical practices in Belhaven also came to join in the fun, bringing in another three carloads to add to the collection.

“Everybody got in the lobby and got in their little corner and started stacking,” Shadle said. “Some folks got real creative with their stacking.”

One of the Vidant employees stood out because of her donating more than half of the toys her group collected during the competition, as she used to be one of the families receiving help from Toys for Tots in past Christmases, according to Shadle.

Although the employee’s name was not given, Shadle said it was touching to see how the woman wanted to give back to those who need help, as Toys for Tots had been there for her family.

“We have supported this for a long time and our employees are so giving…but Lou really took it to a whole new level last year,” she said. “She’s very humble about it, of course. She is a great example of how invested our employees are.”

According to Montana-Rhodes, organizing the competitions has been a fun experience and has added a spirited edge to the toy drives.

She said the Toys for Tots drive is just an example of how invested the Vidant employees are in the community and how willing they are to give back.

“It was a fun, fun morning,” Shadle said.