Volunteers prep Share your Christmas gifts
Volunteers gathering the gifts for the Share Your Christmas gifts are pictured above, from left to right, in the back row: Rita Rogers, Kay Baker, Sue Cavness, Bertie Bailey, Bobbie Tucker and Johnnie Edie. Middle row: Roxie Tucker, Sara Crass, Lindy Gibson, Trish McCracken and Liz Wolfe. Front row: Joanne Lambel and Bev Worman. The group is pictured with some of the over 1,200 toys and 800 ornaments.
December 17, 2014
Charlea Mills
Today, the United Methodist Church was bustling with activity as volunteers packed up sacks of Christmas cheer to send to various families in Barry County. Share Your Christmas, a local community volunteer-run program that provides Christmas gifts to children in need, wrapped up, with volunteers bagging up the gifts for families to pick up.
Gail Reed, OACAC Neighborhood Center supervisor, stated, “It’s just amazing to see so many toys. We have such a wonderful community that comes together to support this program. It’s just incredible.” The Neighborhood Center acts as a hub for parents to get information, apply and to help coordinate community efforts, but Reed says it is the volunteers who make the program successful. Individuals, businesses and community groups buy gifts and raise money for each child in the program.
Those same volunteers then get together to bag up the gifts and ready things for when families come to pick them up. Families will begin getting the gifts tomorrow, Thursday, December 17, to get them in time to be ready for Christmas.
Children are signed up by their parents who provide a list of toys. Children who live in families who meet the requirements can be from birth up to age 18, as long as they are still in school. Volunteers try to get all or most of the items requested by each child and also provide a few things for the families, as well. Families in all Barry County communities except for Shell Knob and Monett can apply. Shell Knob and Monett have their own programs for families to sign up for.
This year, 438 children were signed up for Share your Christmas which is similar to previous years. Families get to sign up in the two weeks before Thanksgiving. However, one change this year is that, due to generosity by the Cassville Main Street Association, 17 decorated Christmas trees were given to families who did not have one. Reed said, “We gave families the trees that didn’t have them, and people were just thrilled. They were beautiful.”
Aside from gifts, the First Baptist Church also contributes to the program by providing a hygiene pack for each family that is filled with laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene items.
For many families struggling with personal circumstances, making a happy Christmas is a challenge on a limited income. However, with the Share your Christmas Program, 438 kids in the county will have a very merry Christmas,despite those circumstances.
Charlea Mills
Today, the United Methodist Church was bustling with activity as volunteers packed up sacks of Christmas cheer to send to various families in Barry County. Share Your Christmas, a local community volunteer-run program that provides Christmas gifts to children in need, wrapped up, with volunteers bagging up the gifts for families to pick up.
Gail Reed, OACAC Neighborhood Center supervisor, stated, “It’s just amazing to see so many toys. We have such a wonderful community that comes together to support this program. It’s just incredible.” The Neighborhood Center acts as a hub for parents to get information, apply and to help coordinate community efforts, but Reed says it is the volunteers who make the program successful. Individuals, businesses and community groups buy gifts and raise money for each child in the program.
Those same volunteers then get together to bag up the gifts and ready things for when families come to pick them up. Families will begin getting the gifts tomorrow, Thursday, December 17, to get them in time to be ready for Christmas.
Children are signed up by their parents who provide a list of toys. Children who live in families who meet the requirements can be from birth up to age 18, as long as they are still in school. Volunteers try to get all or most of the items requested by each child and also provide a few things for the families, as well. Families in all Barry County communities except for Shell Knob and Monett can apply. Shell Knob and Monett have their own programs for families to sign up for.
This year, 438 children were signed up for Share your Christmas which is similar to previous years. Families get to sign up in the two weeks before Thanksgiving. However, one change this year is that, due to generosity by the Cassville Main Street Association, 17 decorated Christmas trees were given to families who did not have one. Reed said, “We gave families the trees that didn’t have them, and people were just thrilled. They were beautiful.”
Aside from gifts, the First Baptist Church also contributes to the program by providing a hygiene pack for each family that is filled with laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene items.
For many families struggling with personal circumstances, making a happy Christmas is a challenge on a limited income. However, with the Share your Christmas Program, 438 kids in the county will have a very merry Christmas,despite those circumstances.