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For more than 20 years, Stanly Community Christian Ministry in Albemarle has been helping low-income families with Christmas presents for their children and gifts for seniors.
Helping Hands is the county’s most extensive and longest-running program and has had several locations and formats over the years. However, this year brings a significant change as the program shifts from individual holiday “Adoptions” to a “Toy Store” model.
This year’s program director is Salem Taylor, who also led the program in 2018 and, together with SCCM Executive Director Heather Kilde, created a new approach to Christmas gift-giving.
Inspired by West Stanly Christian Ministries, which has used the toy store model for over a decade, they created an event where parents could choose the toys to give their children. The benefits are that the parents are involved, and everyone receives similar items.
“As a parent, I can’t imagine not knowing what my children are getting for Christmas or being unable to choose what I’d like to give them. To me, that is a critical part of gift-giving. It’s hard enough not to be able to buy Christmas gifts for your children, let alone not be a part of the process,” Taylor said.
Helping Hands will serve 433 Stanly County children ages 0-14 this year and is setting up a toy store on Saturday in the gym of the Niven Community Center building at 1816 E. Main St. (which also houses Albemarle Parks & Recreation and Homes of Hope).
Toys are provided by Toys for Tots as well as individuals and groups.
“Transitioning everyone from doing Angel Tree adoptions to helping us stock the Toy Store has been a big undertaking. Most people are used to getting a list of names and specific Christmas wishes and shopping for them, which is different. We’re trying to collect enough toys that are popular and good quality that are enough for each gender and age range of children we serve. We use information from the applications to guide us (LEGO building sets, Nerf guns, art supplies and dolls still rule the wish lists) and hope the community will help us gather enough items so every child has a good Christmas,” Taylor said.
Parents will be assigned a time to come and shop at the toy store, where toys will be organized into age ranges and values, and every parent will have the same shopping guidelines.
Volunteers will help parents navigate the store, keep track of their gifts, wrap them and help them load them in their car.
“We have an amazingly diverse group of volunteers this year, which excites me. Lots of first-time volunteers, couples, families, bilingual people, and retirees, a great cross-section of our community,” Taylor said.
That also means that training and preparation are critical, and much time has been spent trying to get everyone organized and ready.
The Senior Helping Hands program operates the same as before, connecting applicants with folks who can “adopt” them for Christmas.
There are 82 seniors needing help this year, and their Christmas wishes are straightforward: Laundry detergent, paper towels, household cleaning supplies, clothes and shoes are commonly listed.
If you would like to adopt a senior, email helpinghands@sccminc.org.