The Marion County Christmas Toy Shop is not a substitute for Christmas. But it is an attempt to provide gifts for underprivileged children in Marion County who otherwise might not be receiving any.
That, in a nutshell, is what the Christmas Toy Shop is all about. It’s a venture on behalf of Marion County churches, community leaders and schools to help make Christmas more joyful for everyone.
Those planning the Toy Shop giveaway for next Friday realize that mistakes may be made. Anytime something is attempted for the first time, problems probably will exist. Things may happen for which no one is even prepared.
But the Christmas Toy Shop is being planned with the young people of Marion County in mind — to provide Christmas gifts for the less fortunate. It’s as simple as that.
Many people have already provided gifts for the Christmas Toy Shop. And it is hoped that many more toys will be collected by this weekend, when all gifts should be at the Election Center off East Park Avenue where the Christmas Toy Shop is being held.
More gifts are needed. More volunteers are needed as well. We’ve never seen a project where there were too many volunteers, and this is no exception.
Any people out there who would like to assist may call the Rev. James Saunders at 304-365-0351 or County Commissioner Butch Tennant at 304-203-7031. They are two of the leaders who have been working diligently to ensure that the Christmas Toy Shop comes off as it is planned — a positive experience for people getting some assistance for Christmas.
And as for the gifts — most of them are brand new. But some are good used toys that people aren’t using anymore.
Christmas is a season that brings out the best in people and that appears to be happening with the Christmas Toy Shop. Some of the people bringing in gifts have had so much happiness in their eyes — they are truly reflective of the Christmas spirit. A number of cash donations have come in and they still are welcomed. They may be sent to the Fairmont Federal Credit Union at Gaston Avenue.
It’s up to the general public in Marion County — young people and those not-so-young as well — to determine whether this Christmas Toy Shop will be successful. But if the true objectives of the project are met, we feel that it will be.
