(Calhoun, Ga) — Gordon Hospital’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department helped make a lot of kids smile this Christmas thanks to the annual toy drive. According to EMS Director Courtney Taylor, this year’s goal to raise $17,000 in toys and cash was actually exceeded by more than $300. “We are so thankful for everyone who donated to our Help Make a Kid Smile toy drive,” Taylor said. “We were really concerned about making our goal this year due to the state of the economy, but Gordon County residents came through and as a result a lot more kids were smiling on Christmas morning.” All toys collected were distributed to children in Gordon County. The 2008 toy drive netted more than $16,000 worth of toys and cash donations. The 2009 drive raised $10,177 worth of new toys and $7,139 in cash that was used to purchase new toys. “We had several hundreds of dollars worth of toys that were donated in memory of a local woman that passed away from a serious illness last year,” Taylor added. “We were very touched by that and very appreciative to her friends and family.”