At age 73 Paul Rodriquez is still going strong and making positive contributions to the community where he once delivered newspapers as a young boy.
A couple of times each year Rodriquez drives up to the Mount Shasta area to donate dozens of wooden toys he makes by hand at his Sacramento home to help the Humane Society raise money for their programs. 
“It’s something I enjoy doing that really helps out,” Rodriguez said. “Most of the raw wood is donated and then  I do the rest in my workshop. When I begin on a project I just see it and then start to work using my imagination. I don’t use any drawings or plans. My hands just seem to know how to make the best of the wood. Sometimes I’ll just get an idea from out of the blue and start making the toys. And the next thing I know I have a box full of toys that are ready for delivery.”
Most of the toys Rodriquez makes are planes, trains and cars and are of high durable quality. He also donates the toys he makes to hospitals and other charitable organizations in the Sacramento area to help them raise money.
“Studies have shown that basic old fashioned toys are better for children to play with than the plastic and electronic ones,” Rodriquez said. “I really like knowing that what I do helps out in different ways. Every time one of the toys I donate is sold it makes a kid happy and raises money to help out. It creates a win-win situation and, of course, I love doing it. Wood working has been one of my hobbies for 34 years and I consider it a blessing to be able to do what I do. It makes me feel like part of the community still, even though I live in Sacramento and a lot of my friends here have passed away.”
Rodriquez makes over 250 different types of toys and through the years has made  several thousand toys which he   has donated to various non-profit organizations. The toys sell for approximately $15. In a toy store they would sell for double that price, he said.
Based on that, it would be fair to say that there are more funds to be raised and spirits to be lifted by the toys that come from the heart and hands of Paul Rodriquez.