Thursday, December 15, 2011
Photo
Mindy Jones, a volunteer at the Warren Family Mission on Elm Road, sorts through toys for needy children.
Staff report
WARREN
The Warren Family Mission finds itself running out of time to provide the quantity of toys for Christmas that it normally gives out.
“We are trying to get the word out and let people know we’ve been doing this for years,” said Michelle Beauchene, a spokeswoman for the Family Mission.
The nonprofit mission annually provides toys to about 1,000 children, but donations so far have produced only about 200 toys. Each child usually gets several gifts, she said, so the facility has only about 20 percent of the gifts it needs.
Beauchene said the mission asks anyone who can help to provide new, unwrapped toys for children newborn to 16 years through Saturday. Cash and gift certificates also will be accepted.
The mission usually has the most trouble providing gifts for the children age 12 to 16, Beauchene noted.
The mission’s Christmas toy giveaway is set up like a gift shop, Beauchene said. Parents who signed up by Tuesday will be allowed to browse the gift shop and pick out gifts for their children, she said.
For more information, call 330-394-5437. Donations can be dropped off at the mission’s 361 Elm Road location.