grace_and_chuck_tolson_dickson_ranch
SAN GERONIMO VALLEY: Grace and Chuck Tolson began a tradition of giving anonymous Christmas presents to families in need three decades ago (it continues as the nonprofit Valley Toys and Joys). Their community celebrates them this month.  David Briggs

About three decades ago Grace Tolson, a fourth-generation San Geronimo Valley rancher who runs the Dickson Ranch with her husband, Chuck, drove a couple miles down Sir Francis Drake to the community center, moved to somehow help the people she saw struggling around her. She and her family weren’t rich, she said, but she thought she could provide some anonymous Christmas cheer. The center knew of a couple that didn’t have enough money to buy presents for their six kids, so the Tolsons, like behind-the-scene elves, purchased gifts and donated them to the community center. It was the beginning of Valley Toys and Joys, now a nonprofit that provides gifts for up to 200 kids a year. It’s such a big operation, Ms. Tolson said—each child gets three gifts—that they need multiple trailers to haul their load back to the ranch after volunteers scour stores like Toys ‘R Us on Black Friday. The couple’s volunteerism, generosity and willingness to open up the horse ranch for innumerable community events prompted the community center this month to name them as the honorees at its annual gala on Sept. 27. Fundraising and organizing the toy drive—which is all-volunteer run—is work Ms. Tolson undertakes in addition to running the ranch full time. The ranch was a dairy from the time her great grandfather, William Dickson, bought it in 1870 till she was a baby in the 1940s. She inherited and now runs it as a horse ranch, where she boards up to 100 steeds. Come December, the Tolson’s home temporarily turns into Santa’s workshop, overflowing with toys; dolls fill up the bathtub, and Mr. Tolson typically assembles dozens of bikes. (Last year, he had some help when the pipes broke and he was scurrying to fix them, but he still vetted each assembly himself.) The gala fundraiser for the San Geronimo Valley Community Center features a dinner, wine and beer, dancing and a silent auction; it starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27. Tickets—$95 before Sept. 15, $135 after—can be purchased at sgvccgala.bpt.me. Adults only; childcare can be reserved by Sept. 15 for an additional fee. Donations to Valley Toys and Joys can be sent to P.O. Box 496, Woodacre, CA, 94973.