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Get Ready to Give Back: How You Can Help Make Christmas Happen in the High Country

A struggling economy means struggling families. It also means that more and more people in our own neighborhoods need our help this Christmas. We have compiled the details for several charitable programs that are still going on in the High Country. If you’re looking for a way to give back this holiday season, find the method that works best for you and get started right away. Christmas will be here before you know it!

SANTA’S TOY BOX:

Drop off a new, unwrapped toy

Help get brand new toys to children in less fortunate families by dropping one off at a collection site or making a financial contribution to Santa’s Toy Box.

Send your monetary gifts to Deerfield Methodist Church at P.O. Box 1337 in Boone.

If you or someone you know needs help from Santa’s Toy Box this year, call 828-719-9627.

If you would like to volunteer or need more information, call Gene Swift at 828-266-3362.

Drop off a new, unwrapped toy at one of the following collection sites before Dec. 17:

  • Boone Police Department
  • Everett Nissan
  • High Country Visitor Center
  • Ross Chrysler Jeep
  • Kangaroo Express stations on N.C. Highway 105 and West King Street
  • First Citizens Bank
  • Haircut 101
  • State Employees Credit Union at New Market

 

CHILDREN’S HOPE ALLIANCE:

Adopt a Child’s Christmas Wish List

Every child under the care of Children’s Hope Alliance facilities has provided a wish list of things they want or need for Christmas. Contact the staff if you would like to provide Christmas gifts for a child.

ChildrensHopeAlliance.org explains:

“Some children only have sad memories of Christmas. We try to turn that around, showing them the true spirit of Christmas while they are with us. Are you interested in helping children and families in need this holiday season? You can bring joy and happiness to those in our care by choosing to get involved with one of the options below. With your help, we can deliver HOPE to children and families this Christmas!”

Call today if you’re ready to help, because gifts for the wish lists must be turned in by Dec. 11. If you’d like to help after that, you can still donate items that local families need, like gift cards, toiletries or nonperishable food items.

Call Christmas Coordinator Toni-Ann Pfeiffer at 1-800-320-4157 or reach her by email at Christmas@childrenshopealliance.org to get started.

Visit childrenshopealliance.org to learn more.

 

HUNGER AND HEALTH COALITION:

Adopt a Family from the Sharing Tree

Through its role in the High Country, the Hunger and Health Coalition aims to “relieve poverty and hunger in a compassionate manner for families and individuals who are experiencing economic hardship and food shortages,” according to its mission statement.

If you’re interested in helping them fulfill their mission over the holidays and in making a happy Christmas possible for local folks in need, adopt a family from the Sharing Tree.

Stop by the office at 141 Health Center Drive in Boone between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Flip through a binder of families in need and find one whose needs you can meet this year. Then, collect the items on their wish list and schedule a time to meet the family and deliver their gifts in person.

More than 50 families still need to be adopted this year, so call or stop by as soon as you can and help make a difference.

For more information or to make a financial contribution, call the office at 828-262-1628, reach an employee by email at operations@hungerandhealthcoalition.com or go online to hungerandhealthcoalition.com.

 

GREEN STREET CATERING:

Shop for Someone in Need Through the Angel Tree

Adopt a child or an elderly adult through this food ministry’s angel tree Christmas program. Send an email to Executive Director Chastity Lesesne at greenstreetcatering@gmail.com and let her know you’d like to help someone in need. She will match you with an “angel” and reply to your email with a copy of their wish list this year. Gift sets will need to be returned on Dec. 10 in Boone. Lesesne will provide you with all of the pertinent details when you contact her by email. Check out greenstreetcatering.org for information on this year-round food ministry and its free weekly community meals.

 

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD:

Build a Shoebox of Gifts for a Child in Need

Find an average-sized cardboard or plastic shoebox. If you want to wrap it, cover the box and lid separately. Pack for a girl or a boy and choose an age category: 2-4, 5-9, 10-14.

Pack the box with gifts appropriate for that child’s age with a quality toy (a doll, a soccer ball with pump, a stuffed animal, for example) and add in school supplies, hygiene items and other fun stuff you want to send. Feel free to add a personal note and a photo from your family.

Pray over the child who will receive your box of gifts and drop it off with a $7 donation (for a tracking label that will help you find where your box is going) at the Samaritan’s Purse processing center, 801 Bamboo Road in Boone before Dec. 19.

Build your shoebox online, make a monetary donation or get more info on what to pack in your shoebox at SamaritansPurse.org. For more information, call Samaritan’s Purse at 828-262-1980.

 

TOYS FOR TOTS:

Drop off a new, unwrapped toy

The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program collects toys between October and December every year and distributes them to families in need and less fortunate children in communities across the country.

If you would like to support the local branch of the Toys for Tots program, stop by the Boone Mall to visit its processing center in the old Dollar General store next to TJ Maxx or drop off brand new, unwrapped toys at any of the participating collection sites.

The Toys for Tots program is ongoing and will continue to collect toys up until Christmas. Nearly 300 bags of toys have been distributed already and close to 800 more are being processed right now. Drop off a toy to keep the giving going.

You may also drop at the collection site new winter clothes, coats and boots for local children that will be delivered through Eagle Rock Ministries.

For more information on Toys for Tots in Boone, go online or call Coordinator Becky Fowler at 828-434-0484.

Collection sites include:

  • The Boone Mall
  • Dollar General in Vilas
  • Dollar General at New Market
  • Dollar General in Deep Gap
  • Appalachian Tees on King Street
  • Appalachian Sports on King Street
  • Dave’s Gifts and Jewelry on Howard Street
  • Walgreen’s
  • Friendship Honda
  • Modern Toyota and Subaru
  • Moose Lodge
  • VFW
  • Avery Middle School
  • Smokes N More