You hear about it on the radio, on the evening news and you see fliers at many stores. This holiday season may not be so merry for a lot of children in our area. Finances for many Rancho Cordova families are suffering, and there are only so many resources available to help. In Rancho, there are two different organizations benefiting those families in need.
The third annual Skoglund Family Toy Drive helps our local families that are often faced with desperate decisions, such as buying food for their children or paying their monthly rent. Unfortunately, toys do not always factor into this equation. The success of our Skoglund Family Toy Drive depends on the community members. Each year the group provides toys and gifts for children up to seventeen years old, who otherwise would not receive anything. To do this the Skoglund Family Toy Drive is in need of: new unwrapped toys, monetary support, gift cards, gift wrapping supplies [paper, bows, ribbons, tape, scissors, gift bags, etc.], people/organizations willing to “adopt” a family in need, and your time.
At the end of the Skoglund Family Toy Drive, the Folsom Cordova Community Partnership holds a distribution event like no other. Each year they provide food for all families who attend. Then they partner the parents with a community volunteer who shares their language and culture and who acts as their “personal shopper” in the Toy Room and helps them select the perfect gifts for their children. This is the pinnacle part of the event because it allows parents to choose the toy/gift that their child will unwrap on Christmas morning rather than some anonymous donation placed in the trunk of their car as they drive through a fast food style line of cars. Once parents select the perfect toys/gifts for their children, they proceed to the “wrapping stations” where more community volunteers help them wrap the toys/gifts and volunteers from the Rancho Cordova Grocery Outlet will transport their wrapped toys/gifts to their vehicles.
Volunteers will be accepting donations Monday-Friday 9AM-7PM and will be having a Toy Drive drop off from 7AM-7PM on Saturday, December 13, 2007at 10455 Investment Circle, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670.
Another volunteer group that is collecting toys for children in Rancho Cordova is the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department Toy Project. The Toy Project provides toys and holiday dinners for less fortunate families in Rancho Cordova and will be collecting donated toys until Christmas.
The Toy Project builds toys and repairs bicycles all year long then distributes them to children during the holidays. Last year, the toy project provided food and toys to more than 4,500 children. This year, with the help of Heald College, some families will also be receiving refurbished computers. For a complete list of drop off locations click here.
Families who wish to receive gifts should apply at their local Sheriff’s Department Service Center or call (916) 875-9600 or (916) 876-8309.
