Kids Yule Love considering increase to community service requirement for holiday gifts

Despite seeing a drop in applicants after requiring parents to perform community service in exchange for holiday gifts last year, Kids Yule Love is considering an increase in the hours of service required to receive toys in 2016.

Volunteer organizations that partnered with Kids Yule Love for the community service component, such as Volunteer Macon Inc. and Volunteer Houston County Inc., gave participants the choice to work at schools, churches and food banks.

Some applicants handed out boxes of canned food at the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank, said Kids Yule Love CEO Joe Allen.

Some others worked at their churches' fall festivals, said Volunteer Macon Executive Director Gigi Rolfes.

"Some people just did not want to go" volunteer, Allen said. "People thought it should be given to them, and that's wrong."

POPULAR WITH SOME

Not all of the charity's applicants were upset with the new requirement.

"We had some people who donated over 20 hours of volunteer work, and they really liked it," Allen said. "A lot of people thought it was the best thing in the world."

Allen said people have the chance to impact the community.

"They can impact their giving back to their kids and somebody is not just giving them something," he said.

Spring Craven, Kids Yule Love's executive director in Bleckley, Jones, Twiggs and Wilkinson counties, said she didn't get much backlash from the new requirement in the counties where she works.

"A lot of people already did community service," Craven said. "The ones who didn't were very excited to do it."

Allen remains adamant about sticking to the charity's new policy: No volunteering means no Christmas toys.

He said the charity is considering increasing the community service requirement to six or eight hours from the four hours required in 2015.

PLACES FOR VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer Houston County Inc. Executive Director Bobbie Morris said she was excited when Allen extended an offer for her group to work with Kids Yule Love.

"We hope that we can continue to support Kids Yule Love," Morris said. "It fills a need."

Rolfes said she worked directly with applicants to ensure they could realistically complete their volunteer work requirement.

"Our goal was not to send someone who had never volunteered before to another side of town where they didn't know anybody," Rolfes said. "We wanted them to have a positive experience."

Kids Yule Love took applicants earlier than usual in 2015 so individuals could find another charity to apply to, such as the Salvation Army, if they didn't want to meet the community service requirement.

As of now, Salvation Army doesn't require applicants to fulfill a service requirement. Allen said he talked to the charity about changing its policy.

"They said that they'll check it out," Allen said.

Although Kids Yule Love saw a 15 to 20 percent dip in applicants and struggled in gathering donations, nine new counties have joined the drive: Crisp, Dooly, Henry, Dougherty, Lowndes, Pike, Schley, Sumter and Jasper.

After a rocky season, the more than 30-year-old charity is struggling to pay off bills for its new warehouse.

"We need help," Allen said. "I had to cut off the water in the warehouse, because we just didn't get the funds this year that we usually get."

Allen said he won't give up without a fight.

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep Kids Yule Love going," he said. "We have one bad year, but, you know, it was the right thing to do."

To donate, visit www.kidsyulelove.com.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Kids Yule Love considering increase to community service requirement for holiday gifts ."