Spending three hours in line to get toys for their daughter at the annual Elgin Toy Giveaway was well worth it for Ana Araujo and Alex Quintanilla.

“They have lots to choose from,” Araujo, of Elgin, said Thursday while looking around the basement of the Hemmens Cultural Center filled with thousands of new, colorful toys.

Their long wait paled in comparison to the efforts of about 10 people — mostly moms — who took turns camping outside the Hemmens in freezing temperatures overnight to be the first in line when the doors opened. By 7 a.m., there were 56 people in line, said Lea Conrad, event coordinator for the Community Crisis Center.

“For many of these families, this opportunity means a lot,” she said.

The event typically features a selection of about 6,000 toys, allowing about 1,000 families to pick out Christmas gifts for about 2,700 children. Each child or teen is allowed two toys, one in the $30 price range and one in the $15 range.

The adults must live in Elgin or South Elgin and must provide proof of residence along with proof of their relationship to the child, such as a birth certificate or school document.

The Crisis Center has coordinated the event for about 25 years. It started as a used-toy donation at the center and over time morphed into a communitywide effort, Conrad said.

This year, about 300 volunteers, including some from Chase Bank and Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, make the event possible, along with a variety of donors, such as the Grand Victoria Foundation, local churches and many more, Conrad said.

One local family donates 20 bicycles each year in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, she said.

Elgin police officers also helped out, checking up regularly overnight on those who waited outside and ensuring the event ran smoothly all day Thursday, officer Lisandro Ramirez said.

“You’re rewarded by smiles and by gratefulness, but that’s not the whole thing,” Conrad said. “You don’t need the thanks. You just do it.”