WC Wisconsin News

A Langes Corner woodworker is doing all he can to make life easier for the young children turned into refugees due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

“I just thought, these kids are giving up so much and they’re going through a very rough time,” Rick Brunner told WEAU.com. “People are donating probably clothing and food, but they’re forgetting that they’re a kid, and I want to give that kid feeling back again.”

With that in mind, Brunner is hard at work at his Rick’s Toybox woodshop, handcrafting wooden toy cars and trucks that he donates to doctors and police to pass out to children all over the globe. A map on his wall shows that the gifts provided by the nonprofit operation have gone to other developing nations as well, according to WEAU.

With the number of Ukrainians now known to have fled the war-torn country quickly topping a million, the man who's been called the Henry Ford of wooden cars has no shortage of work to do.

To date, he’s crafted approximately 200 cars, as donations from the likes of Home Depot and Bear Woods of Canada have helped keep the wheels rolling.    

With deadlines looming, a fellow woodworker out of New London is helping, building some cars in his own shop. But Brunner quickly adds that his doors are open to anyone else who wants to help.

Brunner said he knows the joy the cars, which come with crayons and a lollipop, can bring to a child impacted by the fighting, WEAU reported.

“It brings tears to your eyes. I can just imagine these kids that are in these shelters in Poland getting these toys. And just for a brief moment, it might be just three minutes, hey, they’re going to have a smile on their face, and they’ll feel like a kid again,” he told WEAU.

Anyone wanting to help can come to the shop (5254 County Road R Denmark) any day of the week, starting at 8 a.m. Brunner is accepting monetary donations through his website.