By Taylor Boyd
The annual Patrick County Christmas Cheer program is currently underway to provide Christmas joy for community families in need.
The program began more than 20 years ago to provide warm clothes and age-appropriate toys to youngsters in the county who would otherwise go without.
Organization member Johnny Brown said this year’s event will help 312 children and 150 families with Christmas. A name tag is created for each child with clothing sizes and needs/interests on it. This allows the person with that name tag to buy a coat, shirts, pants, shoes, and toys for that child.
Brown said boxes of perishable food the organization gets from Lowes Foods also are distributed to the families. The boxes include perishable items like produce, a gallon of milk, butter, and fruits that are not typically included in food boxes.
“We try to do that because that way it helps the family unit out, and the whole family unit is not just the children, so it gives things for the parents to have for Christmas,” he said.
Some children also may receive gifts of bicycles donated by Walmart.
“We try to do every other year,” he said. For instance, “if they got a bike last year, we don’t let them have a bike this year unless they’ve totally outgrown it or something like that.”
The organization does not have a limit on the amount that can be spent on each child, but it does suggest spending $50 on children up to five-years old and anywhere from $50 to $125 for children aged five and up, according to Tamika Reynolds, a member of the group.
“We simply state that we’re not providing the whole Christmas. We’re just a supplement for families to help offset some of the big expenses,” she said, adding that $10,000 to $15,000 is raised every year to help fund the program.
“Donations seem to be staggering in really slow this year, but we accept donations year-round,” she said. The group is also working towards becoming a 501c3 organization.
Brown said the group is currently trying to make the program more of a community effort.
“Because there are so many churches that take part it’s unbelievable. Like Ross Harbour (United Methodist Church). They always take about 100 kids every year,” he said, adding the church uses all the money it raises from the annual Ken Adams Memorial Toy Run to buy the gifts for youngsters.
“I can’t speak enough about this community. When it comes to this organization, people come together. They don’t care what church you’re a part of or what background you have – people step up,” he said.
Brown said the group typically has everything in place for the annual December event by August.
“That’s usually when we have applications online, by the time school starts back,” he said.
The cutoff deadline for applications was mid-October.
“Telling people no is the hardest part. But we have to stop somewhere because we have to finish. But that is the hardest part,” he said.
The pickup date for gifts is Tuesday, Dec. 14 from around 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The pickup will operate like last year’s event, with a drive-thru system.
When parents arrive to pick up, the gifts will be unwrapped. Parents can wrap them for their children, Brown said, and added that wrapping paper also will be distributed during pickup.
Monetary donations to Christmas Cheer can be made by mail to P.O. Box 222, Stuart, Va., 24171. Make checks payable to PC Christmas Cheer.
For more information, visit Facebook.com/ChristmasCheerofPatrickCounty or www.patrickcountychristmascheer.com.
