With no local program coordinator to organize a formal Toys for Tots community toy drive this year, several area nonprofits are stepping up to ensure that every child has an opportunity to receive a gift this Christmas.
“Christmas is supposed to be a fun and uplifting time of year for kids. There is no organized toy drive for Howell County this year so we decided to put one together,” said Shannon VonAllmen, executive director of Birthday Blessings.
Local child advocacy organizations Always a Future for Kids, Birthday Blessings, Mtn. View Missouri Community Betterment Program, The Chaos Closet and 37th Judicial Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are working together to bring Christmas cheer to children and teens in the area.
“It has been a tough year, economically, for a lot of people. Our hope is to spread some holiday cheer to struggling families with children,” VonAllmen added.
Kathleen Wolf, program coordinator at 37th Judicial CASA, has spent decades working with kids living in poverty. She is also a licensed clinical social worker who has seen the impact of giving children a positive, encouraging experience.
“Kids in poverty are inundated with images of joy, toys and shiny new gifts during the holiday season. Listening to peers talk about the Christmas gifts they have gotten can make them feel unseen,” Wolf said.
“Receiving a beautifully wrapped new gift helps them feel like a ‘normal’ part of our community. It lets vulnerable kids know someone cares for them and sees them as important.”
The drive kicks off today and will run through Dec, 11. Items will be divided between local nonprofits and rural schools based on need and number of kids served.
VonAllmen noted this drive is specifically intended to help child advocacy organizations and rural schools in Howell County meet the need for gifts for children. Toys collected at the annual Toys for Tots Christmas Concert, which is scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2 at The Bridge Church, 10105 S. U.S. 63 in West Plains, will go to Ozark Action, which is facilitating the Communitywide Christmas Assistance Program in partnership with the Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Alliance.
Collection boxes in West Plains are at 37th Judicial CASA, 101 Washington Ave.; Community First Banking Company in Southern Hills Plaza; First United Methodist Church, 503 W. Main St.; Lybyer and Hass Darr Halls on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus; Ozarks Small Business Incubator, 408 Washington Ave.; Ozark Marketing Company, 983 E. U.S. 160; Southern Missouri Community Health Center, 1137 Independence Drive; the West Plains Public Library, 750 W. Broadway; and West Plains Bank, 11 Court Square. Great Rivers Distributing in Pomona is also a collection site, as well as Mtn. View locations Missouri Home Realty, 100 E. Fifth St.; Simmons Bank, 105 W. Sixth St.; and Dollar General, 502 U.S. 60.
Just as with the Toys for Tots drive, items must be new and unopened, and not wrapped in Christmas paper, organizers remind, adding that this year, there is an especially high need for teenage gifts. Suggested items are sports or fishing equipment, hygiene sets for boys or girls, makeup or nail polish sets, fleece blankets, craft kits, insulated tumblers, trendy hat and glove sets, board games and unopened packages of candy or snacks that do not expire before 2024.
Online donations can be made at afkfoundation.org. For more information call 417-372-5306 or email office@birthdayblessings.onmicrosoft.com.
