Kids Yule Love giving final shot for families to sign up for Christmas gifts
Kids Yule Love founder Joe Allen is offering a final chance for needy families to sign up for Christmas toys.
Allen said he’s hopeful more people will register Sept. 27 after it appeared low turnouts this month were due to a new requirement of performing four hours of community service in exchange for holiday toy help.
Bibb and Houston counties usually have a combined 325 families apply with Kids Yule Love for Christmas gifts, but this year just 105 have signed up in those counties so far.
“In Wilkinson, Twiggs, and Jones (counties) we usually have 75 to 100 families, and there were less than 15 families that signed up,” Allen said.
The upcoming registration events on Sept. 27 will be held at several Middle Georgia locations. Allen said all the sign-up events will be from 3-7 p.m. that day, but the locations have not been finalized. That information, as well as how to volunteer, will be updated on the Kids Yule Love website.
Allen said he doesn’t want the four hours of required community service to deter parents from helping their children this holiday season.
“It will make (parents) feel good by doing it themselves,” he said.
Volunteer Macon, which is coordinating the community service, is open to volunteers picking places they want to work such as at their child’s daycare or school, Executive Director Gigi Rolfes said.
There are numerous opportunities at agencies and other places in the area.
“This time of the year there’s not a church or community center that doesn’t have a fall festival,” Rolfes said. “There’s a lot of work that’s going on in their communities. I’m encouraging them to go to the places where they feel safe and understand what’s going on.”
A convenient community service option is with Goodwill Industries, where people can volunteer seven days a week at one of their stores, Rolfes said.
There also are chances to volunteer with Goodwill through administrative work and at Job Connections and Academic Achievement Centers, said Brandi Hartness, manager of volunteer services for Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia, where 5,200 people have been placed into jobs in the past five years.
“We say as a Goodwill volunteer you’ll also be a mentor and trainer by showing what you can achieve by hard work,” Hartness said.
Allen said while he’s disappointed with the turnout this year, he’s glad he put the community service requirement in place.
The Christmas toy program drives the bulk of donations for Kids Yule Love. The agency is still in need for donations that can go to the holiday gifts and other services like providing Bibles for children and purchasing smoke detectors.
“We don’t know yet how many people will show up. We know it’s slow right now,” Allen said.
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitternote auth="Erin Ivanov" coll="0" ctime="1d0f1af a5145e29" mtime="1d0f1af a5145e29">
Contact information:
Kids Yule Love: 741-3032 kidsyulelove.com
Goodwill: Brandi Hartness 471-4852
Volunteer Macon: 742-6677.
This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Kids Yule Love giving final shot for families to sign up for Christmas gifts ."