|
|
Thanks for making the 2007 Christmas
is
for
Kids
gift
drive a success!!!
Thanks to your generosity and outpouring of
community support, we were able to provide gifts for over
1000 children this year. Imagine the joy that you
have brought on Christmas morning to each child we helped
this year
when they woke up and saw what "Santa" brought them, thanks to your generosity,
compassion & humanity. The true spirit of this season lies deep within the hearts and
souls of our special "Santas". Our community has
always made the effort to make a difference in our children's lives. That
is the greatest present that "Kelly's Elves"
could receive, knowing that our community cared!
|
What is
"Christmas is for Kids"?
|
|
We are an all volunteer run,
gift-giving program that assists children who would otherwise go without a
gift on Christmas Day. There is no paid staff and the Council pays for costs
such as printing, postage or phone expenses. All monetary donations are used
in their entirety for gifts for these children.
We have been able to assist over 1,000 children each year thanks to your generosity and
support! This is truly a community event!
|
|
Who are we helping? |
We are assisting anyone in need. This may include those on some sort
of public assistance but also includes the "working poor" and
those families who may be experiencing medical or emotional hardships.
Today's uncertain economic climate has put financial strain on many
working people. So although many people are working, the high cost of
living - the rent, the utilities, the food,
our basic necessities- are what is taking away money from all of the
families. It doesn't take much, a lost job, a medical emergency, etc... to
put people in a position of having to choose between food for their family
and heat for their homes, leaving precious little, if anything, for gifts
for their children for Christmas.
Click
here to see some of the
families we have been able to help.
|
|
How does it all work?
|
|
The Council for Children accepts
applications from parents and
social workers from the MA Department of Social Services, Big Brother/Big Sister Program
of Greater Attleboro, Family Resource Center, Young
Parents Program, New Hope, the Attleboro Center, and the Seekonk and Rehoboth Council on Aging’s Social Service Departments.
Each family is carefully screened to assure that a need exists. Mansfield
residents receive assistance from the
Westside Benevolent Society and Norton
residents are being help this year through
the Norton Fire Dept.
Applications are made available on-line
and at select locations in the Attleboro area.
|
|
How you can help. |
|
The children's requests are listed in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle
on the Sunday edition after Thanksgiving and are also posted on our website.
Along with members of the community who
"sponsor" children and purchase a child(ren)'s request, we work with many major
civic organizations and companies in the area who either sponsor children or
conduct on site toy & clothing collections
to make sure that every child is taken care of.
They include:
We do not ask them to sponsor children; they do
this from the kindness of their hearts.
They read the Gift
List that is printed in
the Attleboro Sun Chronicle, the
Sunday following Thanksgiving. The list
of gift requested gift items appears on 3 full pages in the Sun Chronicle who
generously provide space in their newspaper free of charge.
The Sun Chronicle runs several
articles about our program during the holiday season, for that we are
grateful. Articles that appear on this website are reprinted
with their kind permission. Family and children's stories are also
published in the North Attleboro Free Press, Providence Journal and Evening
Times.
Once the donor makes their call to the
Donor telephone line, they shop for the child’s requested toy and clothing
items. Many donors decide to put in more toys than requested, extra warm
clothing items, food gift certificates for the family’s Christmas Dinner,
and even filled stockings for the children. Toy
Recall Alert!
Given the high level of concern about the safety of toys this year,
we have included links to some toy recall resouce web sites, including the US Consumer Product Safety Commssion.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html
http://www.recalledtoyalert.com/
Cash
Donations
Cash donations are greatly appreciated.
For those who prefer to making monetary
donations to buying gifts, we usually
set up
a Christmas is for Kids
account set up with Rockland
Trust Co.
|
|
Where are the donated items brought? |
Donors should place their unwrapped
Children’s toy and clothing gift items in a large trash bag with the
child’s ID number on the bag and bring their gifts to
the Donor Center
where the "Elves" check each package to make sure the items are
correct.
Donors can include wrapping paper in
with their gifts so the recipients parents can have the fun of wrapping
their kid's gifts! All items that the donor brings are placed inside a
plastic bag and identified by the "kid code". We have a one-day distribution to our families and
agencies. It is truly a sight to see. You surely believe that there is a
Santa Claus.
|
|
|
Our
elves are all volunteers and work during the day, thus, Elves only come out in
the evenings and on Saturdays. Always remember: "Heaven helps those
who help them elves!"
|
|
