A toy is a precious gift, yet many children living in poverty can only wish for toys that never arrive.

So, 16-years-ago, Alton and Cheryl Thacker, both now 83, decided to do something about it and what they and their many volunteers do is remarkable.

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For they have now built and given away one-million toys to children everywhere.

The idea began in 2002 when Alton and Cheryl began taking waste wood donations and turning them into colorful, smiling little toy cars.

“For years, we’d dress up as Santa and Mrs. Claus and deliver eyeglasses, shoes and medical equipment to little villages in Mexico,” Alton told The Washington Post.

“And we both knew the important role toys played in helping little minds grow.”

Photo: WaPo.com

Yet toys were always in short supply so Alton, a retired barber, and Cheryl decided to start a toy factory in their West Jordan, Utah community, and build these little cars.

Today, they have about 35-volunteers, most of them retirees with an average age of 80, along with inmates at a local prison who also volunteer.

“The highlight of my week is coming to the factory to help sand cars,” Wade Bender, 74, a retired high school biology teacher and football coach told The Post.

He drives 60-miles round-trip every Tuesday.

At year end, the Thackers are tired. “But our hearts are full,” said Alton. "It makes me feel good to see the impact we’re making.”

“I’ve always said that the secret of happiness is to make somebody else happy.” To do that they joyfully start again each year making what they know will touch many hearts.

Editor's Note: To learn more, click here and here.

In the next KazanToday: A social worker who left a stunning $11-million, mostly to children’s charities.