Salvation Army of Valdosta brings changes to annual toy drive

VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) -The Salvation Army is working to make sure every child in the community has toys under the Christmas tree this year.

They will soon turn their gym into a toy shop, so families that qualify can get the toys for their little ones this Christmas.

Every year the Salvation Army partners with other organizations to help families in need.

In the past, families would advise what toys they would like, the salvation army would distribute accordingly.

But now they’re giving families the opportunity to pick themselves.

The commanding officer, Captain Chris Thomas, says parents know best. This way there will be no disappointments.

“You see the joy on their face but you also see the letdown, that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. So now we are in a position like we’re going to help you get the exact toy that you’re looking for,” said Cpt. Thomas.

The organization is also expanding their efforts, they were able to take this Christmas program to the Hispanic community.

Co-commanding officer, Tasha Thomas says a language barrier can be a challenge when trying to help.

“It feels wonderful because a language is a barrier and we don’t want people who need to go without just because of the language,” said Tasha.

Thanks to the organization’s bookkeeper, Maria Garcia, they were able to make this possible.

“Estoy muy emocionada,” said Garcia in Spanish.

Garcia says she’s grateful to the organization for offering these services to migrant farmworkers and the Hispanic community. She says there’s a lot they’re not able to do due to the language barriers and lack of communication.

The organization will be taking the toys to them before Christmas, about 60 families have signed up.

And for the rest of the community, there are about 300 families registered and over 900 children.

Families interested in registering, there’s still time.

The deadline is December 1.

For more information on registration and donation call the Salvation Army at (229) 232-4724.

For those who would like to donate, toys must be new and unwrapped. Monetary donations are also accepted.

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