Darkness still covered Toledo when Jolyn Richie lined up outside the Salvation Army’s downtown office.

Her car had broken down in recent weeks, which meant the West Toledo resident could no longer get to her job at a Rossford fast-food restaurant.

Suddenly unemployed, the mother of two found herself unable to buy Christmas gifts for her children.

When she heard about the Salvation Army’s first Christmas toy distribution, which occurred last week, Ms. Richie was still employed.

Now just days before Christmas, she was running out of options, so she came to the Salvation Army office on Erie Street at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, hours before doors were to open, hoping to get some last-minute gifts.

“This was my last shot,” she said.

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The Salvation Army held a second toy distribution day in part for people such as Ms. Richie, but also because there’s so much need in the area, Maj. Susan Kelly said. Applications for the initial day, held last week at the UAW Local 12 hall on Ashland Avenue, were submitted in October, but many families’ situations changed since then.

The first day saw more than 1,600 families attend to pick up food and a selection of toys for about 4,000 children, Maj. Kelly said. The Salvation Army expected an increase from last year’s second-day attendance, when about 300 families received toys for about 900 children.

Toys were collected from a variety of fronts, including from Toys for Tots, private drives, and WTVG-TV, Channel 13 ABC’s “Hope for the Holidays” drive, which included significant support from local labor unions.

The toy drives are often, unbeknownst to many, neighbor helping neighbor, Maj. Kelly said.

“People don’t even realize how many are living day to day,” she said.

By 10 a.m., there was still a long line outside the Salvation Army’s door along Erie Street toward Orange Street. Volunteers and Salvation Army staff filled bags of toys for families, with some children trying to peek through curtains to watch the “elves,” as Maj. Kelly called them, get to work.

Michelle Moore and other volunteers said that each child received between three and five gifts. While the community’s generosity was obvious, volunteers noticed a dearth of toys for older children, including bikes and small electronics. Other omissions were only apparent in the moment: Some sports balls were underinflated, and if a family didn’t have an air pump, the toy could turn into a disappointment for a child.

But there were still plenty of toys to distribute, and the appreciation for the gifts was obvious.

Marquita Jackson, who was there for a 6-year-old daughter, said that finding work has been difficult.

“It’s hard out here,” she said.

She praised the community and Salvation Army for the gift distribution.

It may be hard out there, but Ms. Jackson has now found work, so everything is now looking up, she said.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.

First Published December 23, 2015, 5:00 a.m.