Christmas For Kids ready to kick off toy drives

PRINCETON — The toy donation boxes for Bureau County’s Christmas For Kids event will arrive at businesses, churches and schools on Monday, Nov. 1, which is the kick off date for the program.

Christmas For Kids collects new, unwrapped toys for families in need in the Bureau County area, to ensure all children receive something under the tree on Christmas day.

Christmas For Kids is a long-standing community event held in Bureau County for more than 18 years. Various organizations have facilitated this program over the years. In 2013, the Princeton Wesleyan Church accepted the challenge of the program and have found ways through the years to make it more efficient in order to serve as many families in need as possible.

Today, the event is led by head organizer Gale Hart, who has worked with the program since Princeton Wesleyan Church took it over in 2013.

Hart said she does it out of love for the people in need.

“It’s a gift of love,” she said.

The non-profit program provides Christmas gifts, at no cost, to families with children ages birth through eighth grade. Christmas For Kids is a referral program and serves families in most of Bureau County, including Princeton, LaMoille, Malden, Ohio, Neponset, Ohio, Sheffield, Wyanet, Buda and Manlius.

Christmas For Kids will hold multiple toy drives leading up to the giving day in December. Donations of new, unwrapped toys can be made at the toy drives throughout the month of November or at local churches, banks, schools and businesses where donation boxes will be set up.

Monetary donations can also be deposited at the Heartland Bank in Princeton or mailed to the Princeton Wesleyan Church. All donations stay in Bureau County. Monetary donations are needed to shop for age groups where toy donations may be short.

The last day toy donations will be accepted is Nov. 30.

Once families are referred to Christmas For Kids, letters of invitation are sent to each family. The families return an RSVP postcard with their children’s gender and age, along with a wishlist. Names are kept confidential.

Meanwhile toys are collected through toy drives and in the collection toy boxes around the county. Officers from the Princeton Police Department and deputies from the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office pick up toys in the boxes and deliver them to the Princeton Wesleyan Church to be sorted. Princeton Fire Department also provide assistance on the giving day. Once toys are ready, volunteers set up a “toy store” at the church, keeping inventory so that the shopping team can fill in the gaps were more toys or items are needed for age groups.

Hart said gifts for children ages 12 to 14 are usually the most in need to be filled. She said it’s easy to buy for babies and younger children, and many times shoppers are unsure what to purchase for the older ages. However, that’s why monetary donations are just as important as toy donations.

When the “toy store” is completed, volunteers pull a returned RSVP card and start bagging up gifts for the families according to age, gender and requests. Each child receives three gifts, plus extras such as games, puzzles, balls, books and small items for stocking stuffers.

When there is a surplus of gifts available, the volunteers make the donations available to other groups in the local area, such as Freedom House, Bureau County Food Pantry and Second Story.

Hart said without the volunteers and community support, the Princeton Wesleyan Church could not provide this community service. The organization is very thankful for all the assistance received by volunteers who help make each year a success.

Upcoming toy drives to watch for

Nov. 13 — Veterans Park (across from the Princeton Fire Department) from 11 a.m. to 3 pm.

Walmart in Princeton from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sullivan’s Foods in Princeton from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Nov. 20 — Cornerstone Wellness in Sheffield from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Walmart in Princeton from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Nov. 27 — Walmart in Princeton from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Walnut Liberty Square from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

These toy drives are drive up and drop off. There is no need to leave your vehicle.

Christmas For Kids box locations

Princeton

Apollo Theater

Central Bank

Douglas Elementary School

Evangelical Covenant Church

First State Bank

First Christian Church

First United Methodist Church

Gardner Denver

Heartland Bank — North and Main branches

Jefferson Elementary School

Jillian’s Salon

Lincoln Elementary School

Logan Junior High School

Metro Center

Midland Bank

Milk Mustache

MTM Recognition

New Hope Church

OSF Saint Clare Hospital

Princeton City Hall

Princeton High School

Princeton Public Library

Princeton Wesleyan Church

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church

Other locations around Bureau County

Community State Bank in Neponset

First State Bank in LaMoille

First State Bank in Van Orin

LaMoille High School

Malden banking center

Manlius banking center

Ohio Schools

Sheffield banking center

Citizens First State Bank in Walnut

First Federal Savings Bank in Walnut

Bureau Valley High School