Local Charity: Country Santa
Some items the girls picked up themselves last year to donate to Country Santa
For the past few years our family has donated to Country Santa. The girls school is a collection point so it makes it easy for us to drop off the fun toys the kids pick out to donate. We believe it is important to help those within our community (specifically kids in this situation) who would otherwise not have a Christmas or gifts to open for the Holiday Season.
There have been years within our own family when Jake was out of work and funds were really tight. We really didn’t have a lot in the budget to buy gifts for our kids. Thankfully, the girls were younger so they didn’t notice that gifts that were under our tree were mostly from family and friends (not us). We were able to give them a couple small gifts that we were able to get for free (using coupons or finding deals).
We made sure that the Holidays were cheerful for the kids and we focused on the many blessings we had in our lives, the true meaning of Christmas, and made sure to spend quality time together creating wonderful memories even during a stressful season. We really didn’t have any extra cash to buy gifts for extended family and friends so we just didn’t do it (and prayed that everyone understood).
Whether you are barely making ends meet or have extra this year there are ways to make the season a time of celebration for your kids. If you live in our area and truly don’t have any extra you may qualify for this neat program. If you are fortunate enough to have a little extra this year maybe you can donate to Country Santa or another similar program to help those less fortunate right within your own community. You may be a huge blessing to some young kid this Christmas Season!
Some of the goodies we have picked up for Country Santa this year. The “monster feet” just make me smile! 🙂
Here is a little bit more about Country Santa
It all started with one first-grade girl, shortly after Cox and his wife Nell moved from Greenville, SC, to tiny Pumpkintown in the northwest corner of the state. The girl arrived at school needing new shoes, and Cox, a water-waste equipment sales engineer, heard about her plight and brought her a pair. It was then that he noticed the tattered condition of her doll. So that Christmas, a replacement doll, the biggest boxed doll I could find, says Cox – arrived under the girl’s Christmas tree.
The next year, with names provided by the elementary schools, Cox provided toys to 10 children. By the fifth year the list had grown so long that Cox began soliciting toys, new and used, from the area’s more fortunate citizens. He signed up volunteer elves to help deliver them.
In 1986, he built a 900-square-foot warehouse to store toys, which are gathered from collection points throughout the year. The Country Santa building is also where all the toys are bagged for delivery. Before the Country Santa building was built, Cox’s home doubled as Santa’s workshop. Toys were stacked in every room in the house.
Country Santa doesn’t limit the gifts to one toy per child. Each child get several toys. Cox says “he try’s to give about $50.00 worth of new toys but some maybe used. He if has to give used toys, they have to be in excellent condition.
Cox draws inspiration from his own youth. When he was 10, his dad walked out on the family, leaving his mother to support Buddy and two older sisters in the rural South Carolina town of Cross Hill. “She got a job as a bookkeeper, making $50 a week,” Buddy says, and “I know she struggled to put something under the tree for us at Christmas. I realized parents can hurt when they can’t give their kids something”.
To learn more about Country Santa or how to get involved you can go to their website.
While it breaks my heart to think that a kid would have a Christmas without a single present under the tree (if they even have a tree) I know that it is impossible for me to find and help every single one which is why giving to a local charity is important. If everyone who can gives a little extra it really could go a long way.
I love that the girls participating in the giving and are excited about doing it for children they will most likely never meet. We don’t know who is actually getting our gifts, but we pray that God brings them to the place they will make the most positive impact. Brainstorm and consider ways your family can be a blessing to someone else this Holiday Season.
