Thursday, 10 December 2009 17:35 Last Updated on Monday, 01 August 2011 19:03

Every year, The Salvation Army of Lee, Hendry, and Glades puts on a Christmas Cheer program. First and foremost the Christmas Cheer program is a Toy Distribution program, which has many different facets. One such facet is explained below.

People seeking Christmas assistance begin applying for the Christmas Cheer program in late October before most people are even thinking about Christmas. We start early so that we can accommodate all the people seeking assistance. Also, there is a lot of preparation time needed, most of which can only take place after the application process has been completed. The process is as quick and thorough as possible. At the end of it, we hand out appointment times to those seeking help. This gives our clients a time and day to come and “shop” for their toys at our Toy Distribution Center which we loving refer to as the Toy Shop.

Once the application process is finished, we work very hard to complete the set up of our Toy Shop. The space for our Toy Shop is usually a warehouse that has been donated to us for this season. For that reason, the location usually changes every year, based on the availability of empty buildings, and the generosity of a building’s owners to allow us to use the space.

There is a lot of work to be done at the warehouse once the application process is over. First we set up the tables. We cover the tables with festive table cloths, and then we label the tables according to age and sex. For instance, we have tables for 4-5 year-old boys and one for 4-5 year-old girls. This is done to help keep our actual distribution process organized. Thanks to the US Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots drive, and the USPS Toy Drop, as well as many other local toy drives throughout Lee County, we don’t have to purchase many toys for the younger children.

For the older children, ages 9-11, very little comes in the way of donations, so it is often necessary for us to purchase items to help stock their tables. About two weeks before distribution begins, we have one night at the Toy Shop when the bulk of the toys get dropped off. For this night, we line up volunteers to help sort the toys we have at this point. Volunteers are always needed throughout the entire Christmas Cheer program, and are greatly appreciated.

With less than two weeks before our first Toy Distribution day, there is still a long list of things to do. Cleaning and sorting continues as the toys keep arriving. Meanwhile, all the applications have been processed and names entered into a computer so we can keep track of all who will be coming in to receive toys, and what appointment they have. For every family that has applied, a sheet is printed out with their info, and includes space to record how many toys each child in that family receives. This information is very important to record and helps us keep track of how many people we’ve helped, and exactly how many gifts have been given out.It’s meticulous, but it produces very accurate and precise statistics.

When a person arrives at the Toy Shop at their appointment time, we pull their sheet from an alphabetized binder. When the person’s name is called, he or she goes through the Toy Shop with a volunteer “shopper” who helps the person pick out toys for his or her children. The shopper is responsible for keeping track of how many gifts were chosen for each child. These gifts are then bagged up, and taken to the family’s car. Then the family is given a food bag with items to make a Christmas dinner, and other meals as well.

Turkeys or chickens are given out to each family when they pick up their food bags. Truly, this is an extensive process, but we’ve been doing Christmas Cheer so long, that The Salvation Army has it down to a science. Helping people however, isn’t quite so scientific. We don’t treat our clients as just another number. We don’t just bag up toys and give the families a grab bag. We allow those seeking help to have dignity as they choose what toys they would like for their children. In this way, we are hoping to help those in Lee, Hendry, and Glades Counties have a better Christmas.

None of this would be possible without the support of those individuals, groups, and organizations who generously donate their time and resources to make the Christmas Cheer effort successful. On our Christmas Partners page, we take the time to thank not only those that aid in our Christmas Cheer program, but also those who support The Salvation Army in our Red Kettle Campaign. This is our largest fundraising campaign of the year, the proceeds of which go to fund our year-round programs.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer click here.

To see our previous year's generous sponsors click here.

Not Just Another Number:

A Profile on Michelle Alcorn

This is Michelle, and this year was the first year she has applied for Christmas help from The Salvation Army. This is the second year in a row she has had to ask for help with Christmas so that she can provide toys for her seven-year-old son, Brian.

Michelle has been unemployed for the last 8 months. She quit her job of 15 years at Publix last year so that she could help take care of her father.

Michelle’s father was diagnosed of kidney cancer, and Michelle moved up to Orlando so that she could help her mother take care of him. Michelle had to leave her husband and son behind along with her job, sacrificing greatly to be with her Father in the last few months of his life.

Michelle’s father died five months after her move to Orlando, and she stayed with her mother for 6 weeks to help her grieving mother.

When Michelle moved back to Fort Myers, she found the economy unforgiving. She looked for work for 8 months, but jobs were scarce and hard to come by.

With her husband making minimum wage, it is hard enough to come up with rent and utilities, let alone pay for Christmas presents.

Michelle’s Mother-in-law was watching the news one day when they ran a story about The Salvation Army’s Christmas Cheer program.

She informed Michelle that she could come to The Salvation Army on McGregor Blvd and apply for the help she so desperately needed. So Michelle came, not having any experience with The Salvation Army before in her life.

And she applied for toys, without which, her son would not have as good of a Christmas. Michelle is grateful for this opportunity, and is glad The Salvation Army is here to help those in need.