By Cam Lucadou-Wells Hundreds of Christmas gifts have been collected for charity as part of a toy drive by the National Servicemen’s Association South-East branch. The ‘nashos’, many in their eighties, unloaded a mass of toys, bikes and trikes from vans and displayed them on tables at the Dandenong RSL on 10 July. The goods were picked up by The Salvation Army to give to children who would otherwise miss out on presents this Christmas. NSA branch president Mike Smith said for those kids, the receipt of that one gift was a vital gesture. The annual toy drive has collected about 70,000 toys for the past 15 years, except last year when it was derailed by the Covid pandemic.