MVI’s Christmas Cheer Club returns to help with holidays
Gifts for children in need can be dropped off starting Monday morning.
The Mon Valley Independent’s Christmas Cheer Club will kick off Monday, continuing a decades-long tradition of fulfilling holiday wishes for families in need.
The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program provides new clothing or toys for children of needy families through the support of donors. Found in local companies, Angel Trees are decorated with numbered paper angel tags with the first name, age and gender of a child in need of presents.
Sponsored by the MVI, this program helps to supplement the gifts for children whose tags aren’t chosen by a person or when someone under-shops for a child.
The Christmas Cheer Club toy drive was established by our predecessor, the Valley Independent.
For many years, the Christmas Cheer Club has enabled the Salvation Army to keep the promise it makes through its Angel Tree program, which lets local families in need register all their children for Christmas gifts.
Angel Tree tags will be available for children and teens. There is a minimum gift value of $5, and donors are asked to not spend more than $50 per gift.
The Mon Valley Salvation Army covers parts of Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties. The Angel Tree tags can be found at Walmart in Rostraver Township and several local churches.
Capt. Kara Martin said more than 500 families have registered so far this year, and more than 130 angel tags have been placed. She said 100 tags did not come back last year, and sometimes a child’s name doesn’t get pulled or a child’s sibling receive more or fewer presents.
“Even though we do the Angel Tags, we still have kids that are signed up late that we don’t have enough time for people to pull tags because it is too late in the season or people do not return the tags or the toys,” Martin said.
“Then we have to go into CHRISTMAS CHEER •A2
“The club always helps to make the holiday season a little brighter for some local boys and girls and it provides the Mon Valley Independent with yet another way to help the communities we are proud to serve.”
STACY WOLFORD
MVI MANAGING EDITOR our reservoir of toys that we have collected and pick from there so we can complete their wish list. Every family gets an even amount of toys so one doesn’t go without, and we make sure everything is evenly distributed.”
The tags will give examples of what each child would like and their clothing sizes. This year the things kids are asking for most often include electronics.
Other gift ideas include push toys, binkies, blankets, rattles, bottles, teeters, Cocomelon, Paw Patrol, Pokemon, action figures, kitchen and food sets, building blocks, dolls and doll houses, twin bedding, bedroom decor, arts and crafts, Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, Nerf guns, gift cards, electronics, Bluetooth speakers, body spray and cologne.
“The younger ones want a headphone or a tablet, and the number one thing is wireless headphones,” Martin said. “We also got a lot of board games, which I got really excited about. Kids love Legos, Hello Kitty, Bluey and a lot of room decor like LED lights. Teens like clothes, socks and cologne.”
Anyone who picks up an Angel Tag and wonders what to get for specific age groups can visit the Amazon website and search topics such as “gifts for girls age 10” or “gifts for boys age 7” to gather ideas.
Distribution days for the toys will be Dec. 18 and 19 at the Mon Valley Salvation Army Citadel, located at 800 Thompson Ave. in Donora.
Any toys being collected have to be returned to the Salvation Army location by Dec. 15.
The MVI office, located at 1719 Grand Blvd. in Monessen, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for donation dropoffs.
Donors can start dropping off toys Monday. As part of a longstanding tradition, they can have their pictures taken for inclusion in our Christmas Cheer photo pages.
“We’re thrilled to sponsor the Christmas Cheer Club again this year, especially in this time of great need,” said Stacy Wolford, Mon Valley Independent managing editor. “The club always helps to make the holiday season a little brighter for some local boys and girls and it provides the Mon Valley Independent with yet another way to help the communities we are proud to serve.”
This is the Salvation Army’s fourth Christmas in its Donora home, and Martin said the need is as great as ever,. They no longer receive federal funding that they used to get.
“We get constant phone calls of people behind their lights,” she added. “With things being delayed, we hope to secure some grants that will help us with those kinds of things.”
So they are trying to help in any way they can, especially with the Angel Tags. They also provide meals at the Douglas Education Center, give out emergency boxes for people that cannot secure food and more.
The Salvation Army hopes to raise $60,000 this year through its Red Kettle Campaign and is looking for volunteers to ring the bell. Some of the locations are indoors, so older people are encouraged to participate.
“We had a kettle kickoff dinner, and we are hoping we got the message out there,” Martin said. “We desperately need ringers that will stand more hours, and we are hoping for groups to stand. It’s a hard stand. We really want groups to come in — businesses, churches, etc. We have Giant Eagle, Shop n’ Save on Route 51, Walmart and Foodland.”
Martin hopes the money they raise will help meet the needs of Mon Valley residents, and she wants to make the holidays a little brighter by providing toys for children.
“We are really super excited about (the toy drive),” Martin said. “It’s an amazing time of the year. With funding, we can help a couple people. We can’t help everybody, but we can help those in their house cold. I want to be able to at least help somebody. All the money that comes in goes right back out to the community. Anything that anyone can do, even if it’s just a little bit, it adds up. It really does.”
