Operation Christmas 2009 Toy Distribution
On Saturday, December 19, people began lining up at 3 a.m., sitting on lawn chairs with thermoses of hot coffee to ward off the hostile cold and threatening weather. Why would area parents patiently brave such conditions? The answer is Citizens for Citizens, Inc.’s annual Operation Christmas distribution of toys to local low-income families.
Parents waiting in line for 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.
New toys on the tables ready for distribution
The doors at the Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC) Griffin Street office opened at 9 a.m. and parents advanced under the attentive direction of CFC First Vice President, Butch Almeida.
CFC's First Vice President Butch Almeida conversing with the clients waiting in line for their toys
After parents’ names were verified in huge logbooks, where each entry was marked with the number and gender of children in the household, slips of paper were given to volunteers, who then filled large plastic bags with suitable toys for the children. Periodically throughout the day, trucks holding boxes of toys were unloaded and the toys were placed on tables marked with the appropriate age and gender of the recipient children.
CFC President Jim Dolin and former CFC staffer Marifran Davis checking names in the logbooks
Barbara Travis, CFC Operation Christmas Coordinator, oversees the volunteers and makes sure that all facets of the program proceed smoothly and efficiently. At the present time, more than 6,000 toys are distributed to the families that wait in line for long hours to ensure that their child has a gift under the tree on Christmas morning.
Barbara Travis reviewing data of the days activities
Barbara repeatedly states that without her “elves” (a.k.a. volunteers), this day could never happen. The volunteers help transform the big hall in the CFC main office at Griffin St. Friday evening by placing the toys on the tables along with setting out hats and mittens that were knitted by a small army of Retired Senior Volunteers from the RSVP program. Barbara arrives at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday and begins to orchestrate the day’s events. Generous local vendors supply the volunteers with enough coffee and carbohydrates to keep them going throughout the day.
Volunteers Becky and Chris Dansereau
Since 1975, Citizens for Citizens, Inc. has provided Christmas toys for eligible area children (infant through 12 years of age) through the Operation Christmas Program. Each child receives two toys, along with stocking stuffers and knitted hats and mittens. 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 sigh of relief, having satisfaction in the knowledge that their efforts will bring happiness to many children they may never meet, but have certainly touched with the real meaning of the Christmas season.
