Stepping into Shupe's Shop is a lot like stepping into Santa's workshop.
Lined up row after row atop well-worn workbenches sit cars, graters, loaders, all parked in various states of completion.
On other workbenches cushioned with a soft dusting of sawdust sit orderly rows of wooden cradles, all sanded smooth as silk, all calling out to be rocked by young mothers in training.
The son of a carpenter, Terry Shupe was born with woodworking in his blood, but it wasn't until stepping back from the provincial court bench in 2000 that he rediscovered his other favourite bench in the workshop.
Though he still keeps his hand in law-and-order matters one week per month as an ad hoc judge in communities throughout the B.C. Interior, Terry spends most of his days toiling in the workshop tucked behind his Cherry Creek home-transforming chunks of castoff wood into special gifts for less-fortunate children around the world.
This year marks the eighth year the 66-year-old's timbered treasures will be distributed by Christmas Amalgamated to children whom Santa, with his busy schedule, might overlook.
Creative as he is energetic, from these helping hands flow hundreds of planes, trains, cars, graters, loaders, cradles, rocking horses and critters each year.
Up until four years ago Terry's toys, donated as part of and independent of the Kamloops Woodworkers Guild, were enjoyed exclusively at the local level.
But on December 27, 2004, after picking up a copy of the Globe and Mail, Terry Shupe's life, as he knew it changed.
Immediately after viewing the images of the devastation caused by the Boxing Day tsunami that slammed the coasts of several Southeast Asian countries, Terry's think globally, act locally nature kicked into high gear.
With sleeves rolled up, he positioned himself firmly behind his band saw and within a month, dozens of his happy wooden toys were on their way to Sri Lanka in the arms of Developing World Connections volunteers.
"I made sure the first group that traveled to Sri Lanka had a box full of toys to distribute to the inflicted."
Six months after the tsunami Terry was selected to head the Kamloops-Tangalle Sri Lanka Tsunami Recovery Committee, a committee formed to provide immediate disaster relief and long-term development needs to Tangalle, a fishing community of 11,000 that lost 257 residents and 920 buildings.
Through his volunteer efforts with the Kamloops Recovery Committee, DWC and local church groups, Terry's established an elaborate network of volunteers eager to deliver his joyful toys to orphanages around the world.
Tiny hands in Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bosnia, Khandahar, Croatia and the U.S. are now traversing the soil with Terry's fleet of wooden vehicles.
Rare is the occasion when the woodworker meets the benefactors of his philanthropy.
Much of his inspiration is drawn from a lone photograph pinned to a corkboard at the back of his workshop.
He says his motivation accelerates whenever he looks at the photo of a Sri Lankan boy piloting his wooden road grater.
"By the time the waters receded after the tsunami, all the boy's family had left to their name were two garbage bags of possessions and a string of dried corn.
"I've been told the boy plays with the toy all the time. I get a lot of joy from that.
"That's the bigger picture. Really, that's what it's all about."
With his toys now distributed on an international scale, the craftsman sends sawdust flying 12 months out of the year.
And just like Santa, Terry has a hard-working cohort of elves
Wife Lanni and a group of thoughtful women at Mount Paul United Church make sure the heirloom cradles make their way to Santa's sleigh outfitted with handcrafted quilts.
Shupe's toys are made entirely from wood scraps donated by Norberg Truss, Trout Creek Enterprises and RM Insulation, wood that would otherwise have found its way to the incinerator or landfill.
A variety of woods are used in the toy-making process including pine, white oak, fir, cherry, hemlock and black walnut.
And you'll never find a price tag affixed to the toys crafted in Shupe's Shop.
"That's not what it's all about. That's not why I do it. If I want to earn money I go judging."
As a woodworker, Shupe's been constructing toys for less than a decade.
As a Kamloops citizen, he's been constructing community for more than four decades.
Preceding many of Terry's volunteer titles are the words founding and chairman: founding member of the Kamloops Crisis Centre; founding and honorary life chairman for Western Canada Theatre; trustee for Big Brothers; chairperson of the Kamloops-Tangalle Sri Lanka Tsnumi Recovery Committee.
As a committee member with the Kamloops Community Theatre Building Project, Terry played a pivotal role in the construction of the Sagebrush Theatre back in 1978.
For his outstanding contributions to the community he was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2002.
Terry's interest in the international community was awakened prior to his involvement in Sri Lanka. As a testament to his dedication to his judiciary craft, the 24-year provincial court judge was invited by the Central Eastern European Law Initiative to help justice take root in war-torn Bosnia in 2002.
For two months he voluntarily mentored 15 judges on the day-to-day functions of being a judge.
"Bosnia really changed me. I received some heartwarming letters from judges there telling me how much they appreciated my help and not being condescending. I was so honored I had the opportunity to work with such great people."
The waters have long since receded in Sri Lanka, but judge Shupe still makes annual pilgrimages to Tangalle to do what he can to help restore a sense of community to those whose lives were turned upside down by the tsunami.
Next month he'll travel there again with DWC to help construct a training facility, and without question, he'll be toting along a fleet of his latest wooden creations.
Terry Shupe epitomizes the philosophy that one person can indeed make a difference.
One building and one toy at a time he's making the world a brighter place.
"My advice to everyone out there is to stay involved in your community, whether it's local or global, in whatever way you can.
"The rewards far exceed the effort."