Operation Christmas 2008 Toy Distribution
People began lining up at 2:00 in the morning, sitting on lawn chairs with thermoses of hot coffee to muffle the frigid cold. The reason for waiting in these hostile conditions is Citizens for Citizens, Inc.’s annual Operation Christmas distribution of toys. This is the day when the work of numerous volunteers, combined with generous donations from people living in Greater Fall River, culminates in the giving out of toys for children whose families can not afford to purchase gifts for them. Operation Christmas helps to make the Christmas holidays a little brighter for the less fortunate families living in our community.
People wating in line for toys at the CFC Griffin Street office
The doors at CFC’s Griffin Street office open at 9:00 a.m. and parents advance under the attentive direction of CFC’s 1st Vice President, Butch Almeida.
Butch Almeida directing the clients
After the parents’ names are located in the huge logbooks, each entry having been marked with the number and gender of children in the household, slips of paper are given to “runners” that fill large black plastic bags with toys for the children in each household.
CFC Board President Jim Dolin verfying the households receiving toys
Throughout the day, trucks holding boxes of toys are unloaded, emptied, and the toys placed on tables with the corresponding age and gender of the children.
CFC Operation Christmas Coordinator, Barbara Travis, oversees the volunteers and ensures that all facets of the program proceed smoothly and efficiently. At the present time, more than 6,000 area children are beneficiaries of this program.
Operation Christmas Coordinator Barbara Travis
Since 1975, Citizens for Citizens, Inc. has provided toys for all eligible children ( infant through 12 years of age ). Each child receives two toys along with stocking stuffers and knitted hats provided by Retired Senior Volunteer Program participants.
Perennial Operation Christmas Volunteers Betty & Bob Ferreira
At the end of the day, when everyone has collected their toys and the CFC office doors are locked, an army of Operation Christmas volunteers breath a collective sigh of relief, having satisfaction in the knowledge that their efforts will bring a smile to many children they may never see, but have certainly touched with the spirit of the Christmas season.
