Christmas For Kids toy drive served more than 400 Bureau County children

PRINCETON — Last month, the Christmas For Kids toy drive served 459 Bureau County children, setting a record for the highest number of children served in one year.

Gale Hart, director of the Christmas For Kids organization, said based on stories she heard from parents and guardians, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the number of families in need last year.

“Some of the stories I heard is people who have lost their job, because of COVID, and haven’t been asked back to work. There were several families who had this issue,” she said, adding there were also a number of families that had deaths due to COVID.

Despite the great need, the toy drive organization was able to meet every request. Hart, along with the Rev. Doug Kirkpatrick of the Princeton Wesleyan Church, which oversees this program, said due to the generosity of the community and all the volunteers that played an instrumental part in the efforts, the toy drive was a success once again.

COVID-19 limited the number of toy donation boxes that were set out around the county to collect toys. Plus, toys that were collected had to be quarantined per CDC guidelines before they could be packaged to give to families.

Typically on the toy distribution day, parents and guardians are invited to the Princeton Wesleyan Church to shop for their children, however those plans had to change, as well due to the pandemic. The distribution day was re-organized into a drive-thru, pickup event.

Parents and guardians were asked to fill out a card that included a line that asked about their children’s hobbies or interests. This allowed shoppers to specifically shop for that child based on the feedback.

Hart said while it made shopping more efficient for the children, they did receive feedback from parents and guardians who missed being able to shop for the children in the makeshift toy store set up in the basement of the church on the distribution day. Hart said they hope to be able to bring back that option next year, however it will all depend on the status of the pandemic.

On the day of the distribution event, Princeton Police Department helped with traffic control and St. Matthews Lutheran Church, located across the street from Princeton Wesleyan Church, allowed the use of their parking lot for the overflow of cars who lined up for the drive-thru.

Looking ahead, the organization is sitting in a good spot due to all the financial donations received this year. Volunteers are currently shopping after-Christmas deals now to stock up on toys for next year. They are expecting to serve just as many children, if not more next year, due to the long-term effects of COVID.

“The need will be as great, if not greater. There’s a lot of hope about the COVID vaccine, but permanent financial damage that happened to families, that is going to take longer than a year to get back to what it was like pre-COVID,” Kirkpatrick said.

While the Christmas For Kids organization coordinates the toy drive, Kirkpatrick and Hart said it’s the community that makes it possible.

“Every year, the community, the organizations, the groups, the clubs, the volunteers — we couldn’t do it without them. We don’t have enough people in our church to do this. If it wasn’t for the community donating toys, monetary donations and time, this wouldn’t happen. It was success because of the community,” Kirkpatrick said.

“I’m really pleased with all the help we received through the volunteers and through the community,” Hart said. “It inspires me every year to keep going, because there is so much help out there.”

She shared a couple of stories about those who helped make the toy drive a success. One college student raised $600 while she was at college and used it to purchase toys for the drive. Another couple who had no grandchildren to buy for bought toys throughout the year and donated what they had purchased during collection days.

Hart said there’s so many stories that show just how giving the community is. From $2 donations to $3,000 donations, she said every bit is worth it when helping the families in need.

“It’s all important to use to give to these families. It provides them joy and hope for the future,” she said. “Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude.”