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Council
for Children in the News

Christmas Is For Kids needs place to hold annual holiday program
Sunday JUNE 1, 2008 Last modified: Sunday, June 1, 2008 2:11 AM EDT
BY JANETTE SEARS FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE
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. This
article was reprinted with permission from the Sun Chronicle
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Attleboro Area
Council for Children, Inc.
4 Hodges St,
Attleboro, MA
02703
Phone: 508-226-2336 E-Mail: kelly@councilforchildren.org
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