The 51st year of the Toys for Christmas Program is going to be a little different due to COVID-19 but the joy it will bring children will be the same as always.
It all started when Larry Van Werden brought the idea before the Osceola Chamber board. He had seen programs like that in Nebraska where he had previously lived.
The Chamber at that time voted to donate $300 to the program to start it up if the ladies that ran the Osceola Senior Center would run the program.
Clarke and Murray CCOPS members team up each year and shop for gifts for children at Wal Mart in December.
Money can be donated, or a family can be adopted, new or used articles of clothing can be donated, even wrapping paper and tape can be donated. If any community member doesn’t have the means to donate the Toys for Christmas Program could always use people to help wrap the gifts in December.
Dianne Riley runs the program as treasurer now but has been involved since retiring from her position at Head Start in 2002.
Riley helped get the program to become a 501c3 entity this past year. Now there is a board guiding the program.
All donors’ names will be listed in various editions of the Osceola Sentinel-Tribune.
“We are going to put boxes at four location on Friday after Thanksgiving as a collection point for folks to donate new toys or new clothes,” said Riley.
While the gifts are usually drooped off at the Osceola Senior Center, this year boxes to donate will be at Public Health, Salon Red, Clarke’s Furniture and Gilbert’s True Value.
“Faraway did a Roundup for us in early November and we got a check for over $600,” said Riley.