Attleboro Area Council for Children in the News

ATTLEBORO - For most people, Christmas is the last thing they want to think about at this time of year. But, for the volunteers who head up the Greater Attleboro Area Council for Children, it's a high priority.

That's because the council, in addition to a variety of other services it provides, organizes the annual Christmas Is For Kids gift drive, and finding a place to hold that drive is once again a key factor in whether it will exist for the coming Christmas.

Because the council has access only to a small office space, it must rely on the generosity of local people or businesses each year to offer a suitable space in which to hold the drive. Donors have included George Ross and family, the VNA and Nancy Young of the Attleboro Jewelry Makers Outlet.

"In previous years, we knew by now where we'd be in the fall, but as of right now, we have no idea, and that makes me nervous because if we don't have a place, I don't know how we'll manage to take care of hundreds of children," said Kelly Fox, president of the Greater Attleboro Area Council for Children.

Fox says she is particularly concerned about the gift drive this year because of the state of the economy.

"The tightening of the family budgets due to increasing gas and heating costs is certainly going to put more pressure on us this fall, I'm certain of it," Fox said.

"I don't want to wait and hope that something happens later in the year, if we can know now and start to plan accordingly," she said.

To collect, organize and distribute enough toys and clothes for almost 1,000 children, Fox said the council will need about 5,000 square feet of donated space from mid-November to Christmas, preferably unencumbered and heated with available parking for the drive's volunteer elves and donors.

Security is also important, given the volume of items that are stored during the drive and the council will need to have phone lines installed for the duration of the drive.

Location is a consideration, too. The space should be relatively easy for area residents to get to, including recipients of the drive, who come from Attleboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Norton, Rehoboth and Seekonk.

Fox said the downtown Attleboro area is ideal, but not mandatory, and that a Route 1 location in North Attleboro or another area in Attleboro also would work well.

As for its long-term needs, Fox said with a large permanent space, the council could expand its programs and enhance its offerings with some things on its own wish list, such as a performance space or a kids' cooking space.

"But for now we'd be happy for temporary space that we can count on for this fall, just to be sure that this program will be able to run as it has for the past 24 years," Fox said. "I know that the community will make sure that the children are taken care of. We just need a spot to do the coordination of gifts to the children."

For more information or to offer the council a space, send an e-mail to Fox at kelly@councilforchildren.org.

Attleboro Area Council for Children, Inc.
4 Hodges St, Attleboro, MA 02703
Phone: 508-226-2336
E-Mail: kelly@councilforchildren.org