Salvation Army program gets toys, clothing to area families
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Mary Louise Speer | Tuesday, December 25, 2007 |
Human angels of all ages are touching the lives of hundreds of children this Christmas.
Families shopped for toys at the Salvation Army Toy Shoppes set up at the Davenport and Moline centers Thursday and took home boxes filled with food and more. Those toys and clothing were donated by people who adopted tags from the Salvation Army Angel Trees.
“The best part is to see the parents that are real grateful and appreciative,” said Captain Teri Nauta. “For some, this is it. We make sure they have something (but) Santa can only do what he can do.”
Last year the Salvation Army of the Quad-Cities received 2,338 applications for assistance.
Toy donations were down a little this year and Nauta is unsure if that was because of the many toy recalls. But volunteers set out enough playthings to make sure each child received two gifts, a stocking stuffer and item of clothing.
Among the biggest items this year were some boom boxes for older kids, Easy-Bake Ovens, a car seat and 10 bicycles, she said. Clients also had plenty of dolls and sports items, educational toys and clothing for the younger set to chose from.
The Davenport center assisted 360 families with children and 160 childless families with food baskets, she said.
Volunteers from RSVP, or the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, staffed tables at North Park and South Park malls during the Angel Tree collections and local Wal-Mart Supercenters, Gander Mountain retail store and Denny’s restaurants in Moline also hosted angel trees.
Nauta is grateful for the many individuals, families and organizations who provided gifts and funding. “They’ve made somebody’s Christmas in Scott County. I don’t anticipate having anything left,” she said. “We need everyone to donate, because as the need keeps increasing, we try to keep up.”
Volunteers helped carry bags and tried to assist parents with selecting presents. Debi Matty of Sacramento, Calif., unexpectedly found herself in the role of a helper during the morning visits to the Toy Shoppe. The best part of the experience is “the gratitude. It’s nice how grateful people are. It’s like shopping in the store. You’ve got so many choices but they seem happy,” she said.
The best part of the experience was the people, said volunteer Teri Elder. This was her first year to volunteer and she plans on doing it again. “It’s a good cause. You always want to give back especially at this time of year,” she said.
If she was a child again, she would have gladly picked out a Barbie flower doll as her favorite item in the Toy Shoppe. “I was a huge Barbie person,” she said, adding now her nieces play with those dolls.
Client Roxanne Clayton of Davenport is the mother of two girls, 7 and 6, and she was thrilled when Captain Nauta wheeled out out a bicycle.
“Thank God I got that bike. I was just looking at the same bike,” she said about the pink and purple two-wheeler. “I know my daughter is going to be happy. We’re so fortunate.”
The bicycle came equipped with everything from a helmet to an air pump and carry bag.
Clayton hopes her younger daughter likes the Barbie doll and outfit she picked out. “I got what I could get. It will help make Christmas better,” she said. “Thank you very much.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
redditMore Stories By Mary Louise Speer
» More Local Stories
- Romney and Huckabee campaigns go head-to-head
- Salvation Army program gets toys, clothing to area families
- 'Incorrigible criminal alien' sent to prison
- Environmentalists: Rein in CAFOs, coal-fired power plants
- State board orders monitoring of doctor
- Some 'Neighborly' surprises brighten families' holidays
- Muscatine city, county may enact levy for emergency dispatching
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Technology News Articles
- Computers, MP3, Phones & More. See Product Pics, Specs & Reviews.
- www.NexTag.com
- 2008 Diet Of The Year:
- Finally, A Diet That Really Works! Seen On CNN, NBC, CBS & Fox News.
- www.Wu-YiSource.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
