Many area children who might not have had much under the Christmas tree this year were able to celebrate thanks to a local service club.
The Kiwanis Club of Columbia’s annual Christmas for Kids was a huge success, according to organizer Billy Douglas
“It went wonderfully,” he said. “We had a great year; it went really smoothly. We ended up serving around 140 children, not counting around 35-40 foster children. We had one of the best turnouts to sort toys that we’ve had in a while, and we had a good turnout last Thursday to handout the toys. It couldn’t have gone any smoother.”
Douglas said a variety of individuals, groups, churches and schools helped supply the toys for the children.
“Columbia Academy always contributes big, West Marion, Columbia High School and others,” he said. “Citizens Bank helps out a lot, and of course, one of our major contributors is First United Methodist Church, under the direction of Danon Vest. It’s incredible what they do. The Dollar General store in Foxworth is also big. So many different individuals wanted to help families that were in need.”
One special gift was donated to the drive, according to Douglas.
“Zellco Federal Credit Union had a drawing for a 4-wheeler and the person that won it decided to donate it back to them, and they donated it to the toy drive,” he said. “One lucky family got a great motorized 4-wheeler toy.”
Douglas said he saw smiles and even some tears as recipients came to pick toys up.
“It was a very wonderful time getting to see the parents as they came,” he said. “It was great to get to see the smiles and the relief that there was going to be a Christmas for their children this year. It’s wonderful.”
Kiwanis has been conducting the program for a long time, according to Douglas.
“I’m going to say it’s nearing 25 years, if not longer,” he said. “It’s been a long time. There are several times where I have had young adults come up to me and say they want to help or they want their children to get involved because they can remember when they were young and their family was going through a hard time and Kiwanis helped them. They said that if it hadn’t been for Kiwanis, they would not have had enough for Christmas that year. Now they are grown and they still don’t forget that. They remember somebody reaching out to help them. It’s amazing how it perpetuates that giving and the help.”
Pictured Above: Tammy Riley helps sort through toys before they were picked up last week. | Photo by Mark Rogers
