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Get in the spirit

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Staff

We get a lot of press releases with lots of holiday season tips and events to consider this time of year. The relentlessness of all the things to do and keep up with wears on us as well.

Occasionally, something crosses the desk that just flat out floors you. This week it was one sentence that stood out in a county-issued press release on the lack of toys for the Orange County Toy Chest. It read: “While parents of older kids may be able to explain that layoffs or high costs will make the holiday season leaner this year, parents of young children have more difficulty explaining why Santa Claus was stingy or forgot a child altogether.”

A crowd of 200 people waited in line for hours the first day the toy chest opened. Now, with heavy demand — an estimated 3,000 children — the worry is that many will be left out.

The toy chest, sponsored by the Orange County Department of Social Services in partnership with Toys for Tots and Balloons and Tunes, provides a few new toys and clothing for low-income, at-risk Orange County children during the holidays.

Nancy Coston, the county’s director of social services, said there are people visiting the chest this year who would have never considered it in the past. Last year the program gave away toys and clothing to 1,800 families during its traditional eight-day run. This year toys and clothing for 1,200 children were distributed on the first day.

So consider this an appeal to everyone who wants to find at least one way to connect with the holiday spirit, in this case by saving Christmas for a few thousand children.

Checks or toys can be dropped off at either the Southern Human Services on Homestead Road or in Hillsborough at the Whitted Human Services at 300 West Tryon St. in Hillsborough. Checks can also be mailed to the Orange County Department of Social Services at 300 West Tryon Street, P.O. Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278.

We’d also like to suggest that you and your child work together to pick out and deliver your contribution to the effort and share the experience of the gift of giving.

There are plenty of families who will remember Christmas 2008 with a photo of a child visiting Santa. Consider adding another photo to your scrapbook — one of your child being Santa.

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