(WSBT) A local charity was faced with the momentous task of sorting through thousands of toys looking for ones recalled for lead. St. Vincent de Paul Society delivers toys to low income families every year, but didn't know how it would sort through all the toys until they found the answer at their fingertips.

St. Vincent de Paul Society originally thought scanners and swabs were the answer. That didn't work because of the plastic packaging and numerous painted surfaces, but one employee decided to put an office computer to better use.

The organization was faced with a momentous task, and the solution wasn't easy to find.

"Everything from not giving toys because it was too dangerous and too big of a risk, scanning them with a lead scanner. And everything proved to be not workable," said Charlie Thompson, director of conference services for St. Vincent de Paul Society.

He decided to create a computer catalog of recalls.

"I realized we could probably download all of the recalls into a document and just do a keyword search," said Thompson.

The search pulls up a list of safety recalls - even those that are choking hazards. If the toy has been recalled, it's removed. Others are sorted, but all toys have a sticker placed on them indicating whether they are safe or not.

Using the computer system, volunteers were able to go through 5,000 toys in two days finding less than a dozen recalled toys.

"As long as we keep getting the toys in and we keep getting the volunteers in, I would say we are definitely feeling better now," said Thompson.

But they aren't taking any chances in the event there are future recalls.
To get toys, parents must sign a waiver saying they are ultimately responsible for their kids safety.

"We are doing the best we can. It's possibly one can slip by," said Thompson.

In addition to the waiver, parents will also receive a lead educational sheet from the Health Department and information on how to contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

They say the computer method has saved Christmas for the 400 families that have already signed up and the additional thousand families they anticipate signing up before the November 21st deadline.