Today is the final day to participate in one Christmas charity, and the deadline for others is approaching.
The Salvation Army”s Angel Tree will stop accepting gifts at 8 tonight at its location in Leigh Mall. Capt. Bert Lind, a 10-year veteran of the Salvation Army, reports the number of children submitted for assistance jumped from 340 in 2008 to 600 this year.
“The economy has a great deal to do with it. Our social service office is dealing with people who have never needed assistance,” said Lind.
Now the window to provide assistance is closing, and many of those 600 children have yet to be adopted.
The opportunity to participate in the Adopt-A-Family program is also drawing to a close. Individuals, families or businesses wishing to help one of 28 needy families this Christmas have until Dec. 17 to sign up at wcbi.com/community/adoptafamily.php. There they can view the families still available for adoption along with information on the number and ages of children and their wishes.
As of Thursday, 19 of the 28 families had yet to be adopted.
Gifts for the Adopt-A-Family program are due at the Columbus United Way office at 501 Seventh St. N., Suite 5, by 5 p.m. Dec. 21.
“Many of the families that have applied for Christmas assistance are those who have had a family member who has been laid off or whose hours have been cut,” said Jan Ballard, executive director of the United Way of Lowndes County. “It”s hard for them to reach out for assistance, but they are doing so.”
Families enrolled in the Adopt-A-Family program are asking for general-need items — clothing, hair trimmers, slippers and basic household items, Ballard noted.
“The great part of this particular program is the adults can also participate,” she added. “It would be a great thing for families to participate in — giving to families who are struggling right now.”
United Way also encourages churches, students and civic organizations to participate in the program, which is based entirely on community response.
Individuals wishing to make smaller Christmas donations have an opportunity through the Columbus Police Department Toy Drive. Single, unwrapped new toys will be accepted until Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. at the police station.
The CPD is hoping to provide toys to 75 local children, said CPD Public Information Officer Terrie Songer.
“The toys are going to be wrapped and each officer will be responsible for taking the toys to these kids. They go to these houses when they are on patrol and see what their situation is. That is how they determine which child they will help,” she said.
The CPD Toy Drive is also accepting gift cards and cash donations.
Local charity organizations have been in contact with one another to avoid duplication of participants. Children registered with the Salvation Army, for example, are ineligible to benefit from Adopt-A-Family.
Checks are also in place to ensure participating families or individuals exhibit a legitimate need for assistance.
“We make sure the children belong to the person registering them. We check income and expenses and verify, according to national guidelines, what their poverty level is,” said Lind. “Then the people sign a form saying they will not register with any other agency, and we compare lists with other agencies. We want to make sure every individual who needs Christmas will have Christmas.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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