The deadline to donate toys for Christmas is Dec. 15, and they can be dropped off at any collection locations at communitychristmasoglethorpe.org or Toys for Tots. Additionally, toys can be dropped off from 4-7 p.m. Dec. 14 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 15 at Crawford Baptist Church. Financial donations are accepted year-round, either online, by mail or in person.
Community Christmas is continuing its nearly 30-year tradition of providing hundreds of local children with gifts under the tree and helping families cover essential bills.
In order to do this, donations are needed.
“We always need assistance at Christmas, and we rely on getting assistance this time of the year,” Catherine Bowen Drewry, founder and co-chair of Community Christmas. “It’s so important because this is when people are in the mood to give.”
With these donations, Community Christmas provides financial aid toward a family’s bill of choice, with each qualifying family receiving $100, plus an additional $100 per child. Families also get to pick out two or three toys per child, depending on the number of donations the organization receives.
About 346 children and 129 families are currently registered for this year.
“(It) makes for a really special time for the families to get to pick up gifts for their kids too,” Drewry said.
Community Christmas began in 1996, helping 20 kids that year. Last year, Community Christmas provided almost $100,000 worth of assistance to families. The organization expects similar numbers this year.
Despite the name, Community Christmas offers aid year-round, not just during the holidays. It partners with other agencies and organizations, including Family Connection, the Athens Area Diaper Bank and, new this year, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia.
All year, families can go to these organizations once a month for food and diapers.
“People don’t just run out of money at Christmas, they run out of money all the time,” Drewry said. “Often it’s one little thing that can set off everything else and suddenly there’s a catastrophe.”
Crawford Baptist Church provides a home base for Community Christmas during the holiday season, as the organization is entirely volunteer run with no permanent office space.
Community members can help by making both financial and item donations. The organization serves children up to 18 years old, so a variety of toys and gift donations are appreciated. It also collects furniture and appliances that are distributed as needed.
“I love to see a small community coming together, and even though they’re small and there might not be tons of financial wealth, everybody really pulls together,” said April Moore, Oglethorpe County Family Connection coordinator and who oversees organizing the toy drive. “I can honestly say it is all generated here, it all goes back out here, and it’s just good to see that people really have their whole heart in it.”
Businesses and organizations around the county help collect toys and host collection bins, including Oglethorpe County schools, The Commercial Bank in Crawford and the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office.
Drewry said she hopes the community continues to support the organization, help children in the community have a safe, dependable place to live and keep life as pleasant as possible for people.
“If someone gives to Community Christmas, they can know that it’s actually gonna to go help a local kid that’s in a struggling family, and of the money we received, I would say 99% of it goes straight to helping these kids,” Drewry said. “If our donors feel good about their giving, and if our families know that their neighbors care about them, I think that’s a good thing.”