Holiday help

With the economy down, requests for holiday assistance are growing. According to Kathleen Church with Orange County Social Services, more than 700 children are expected to receive some sort of holiday assistance this winter.
"That's approximately 150 more children than we served last year," she said.
The children, and in some cases their families, will be served through the local Kiwanis club, which takes eligible children on a local shopping trip in which they purchase presents for family members; the Santa Fund, which provides coats and gloves; and the Orange County Children's Toy Box, which provides local children with toys and gifts. Several families are also adopted by local organizations and churches that provide them with gifts, food and clothing.
According to Church, local residents apply for holiday assistance through social services. They are then "adopted" by clubs, organizations and churches before Church turns the rest of the approved applicants over to the Toy Box. The Kiwanis club shopping trip and the Santa Fund are operated separately though the schools.
"If it wasn't for the people in the community, these programs wouldn't work," she said. "Especially with the economy, the grants [for some of these programs] are not the same as in the past."
The Kiwanis of Orange have been hosting their shopping trip for more than 34 years. Through the program, underprivileged children in first through third grades are given a certain amount of money to spend on presents for their family. The children are picked up Dec. 8 and taken to Maxway to make their purchases. Members of the Orange County High School Key Club accompany the children on the trip to assist them with their purchases. Once everything is bought, the children are treated to lunch and a visit from Santa Claus.
According to Kiwanis of Orange member Ricky Crane, the trip instills in the children the spirit of giving during the Christmas holiday. Children are chosen through the Department of Social Services in cooperation with local elementary schools.
The Orange County Children's Toy Box receives all of the approved applications that aren't adopted by local organizations. According to organizer Donna Waugh-Robinson, the Toy Box is a sort of local Toys for Tots-like program in which children from birth up to age 17 are given toys during the holiday season. A toy can be anything from a doll to sporting equipment.
"It's really a neighbors helping neighbors program," she said. "Children do make specific requests but especially with older children, they want what every other kid has. Sometimes [these items] are beyond our means but we try to fit the needs as best we can."
Toys are collected through several local businesses which act as drop-off sites. Currently, these include the Orange Dollar General locations, the Wilderness Dollar General location, Virginia Community Bank, Virginia National Bank, Orange Chiropractic, Wayne Modena State Farm, Farm Credit and Waugh Harley-Davidson. More sites may be added later. All toy items are generally accepted; however, Waugh-Robinson requests that only non-violent toys be donated.
According to Waugh-Robinson, the toys are collected and sorted Dec. 7-11. Any monetary donations are used to purchase additional toys on Dec. 14. Once sorted, the toys are packed the night of Dec. 16 and are delivered by volunteers on Dec. 19. All toys must be received by Dec. 16. Anything received after that date is placed into storage for next year.
"Because this is done by a local group, everything stays local," Waugh-Robinson said. "I think it works out well because people know by donating they are helping someone in the community."
To assist with the Orange Children's Toy Box, drop off a toy at any of the approved locations or contact Donna Waugh-Robinson through Waugh Harley Davidson at 672-5550, at home at 672-1663 or by email at dwaugh-robinson@ocss-va.org. To assist in adopting a family, contact Kathleen Church at Orange County Social Services, 672-1155 ext. 134. To make a donation to the Kiwanis Club of Orange, send a check to Orange Kiwanis, P.O. Box 506, Orange, VA 22960.