This year marks 31 years that the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office has coordinated the Toys for Tots program to provide a more bountiful Christmas for needy children in the county.
Applications are being accepted through Thursday for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Parents with children who are younger can participate.
“I need people to step up and take names,” Debbie Hines, executive secretary at the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, who serves as the local Toys for Tots coordinator, said. “We get churches and businesses to sponsor the children. I’m ready to start giving out names.”
Parents will be asked to provide income verification and proof of residency in addition to a valid Tennessee driver’s license and their child’s Social Security card.
Families may request up to three items below $30 for each child with items totaling less than $100. Requests for TVs, video equipment, computers, tablets, phones, furniture and gift cards will not be honored. According to officials, parents should not request a bike if their child received one last year.
Businesses or churches who are interested in taking names may call Hines at 865-986-4823.
Hines said requests have remained steady in recent years although the number of sponsors has fallen. About 500 children in Loudon County were assisted through the Toys for Tots program last year with 2009 bringing in the most requests at 600.
“We have to spread it out a whole lot more,” Hines said about decreased sponsorship.
Paula Smallen, owner of the Hair Barn in Loudon, said she’s been involved with Toys for Tots for the past 20 years.
“I was raised in an area where there was a lot of poverty in Kentucky,” Smallen said. “I feel the need to do anything that I can and that would bring something positive to these young people. Maybe just try to help them and pay it forward. Maybe they will take it and help someone else down the line.”
Smallen said if she was able to assist just one person, participating in Toys for Tots was worth the effort.
“It makes a difference for me in my life just watching the faces of the people and how excited they get,” Smallen said. “One year I had the opportunity to bring a bicycle to the front when there was a 16-year-old waiting. Most 16-year-olds would be looking for a car, but this girl was so excited. It makes you want to help people and do something that makes them feel better.”
“People who think there’s not a need around here, if they would get involved with some of the programs, they would see the need right outside of their front door,” Smallen added.
