Christmas came early to over 1,100 children in St. Charles Parish who gathered at Harry Hurst to take pictures with Santa, indulge in games, be treated to a feast, and get their hands on a brand new toy.
The event was sponsored by the St. Charles Toy and Gift Fun. Toys came from members of the community and organizations such as the United Way of St. Charles, Social Concerns, the St. Charles Rotary Club, St. Charles Parish Council members and employees, Monsanto, St. Gertrude Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus and the Times-Picayune.
The event was coordinated by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.
“Everybody seems to have been really generous,” Fay Caire, the director of the RSVP, said. “We had over 1,600 names on our list and 1,171 children showed up.
“We had toys for all of them and we were actually able to get toys to over 500 more children after the event.”
Children were nominated for the event by their schools, and when they arrived at Harry Hurst, they were registered by seniors and given a tooth brush, tooth paste and a goodie bag. The children then took part in five games, with prizes given away in each one.
The game booths were run by Harry Hurst students and members of the R.K. Smith beta club.
“Then they got to take a family picture with Santa, and afterwards each child had an elf that picked out a present for them,” Caire said. “Valero also provided lunch for everyone.”
Of the toys collected, over 400 of them came from the United Way of St. Charles. The UWSC also collected food to distribute to needy families and Social Concerns.
“We didn’t do a toy and food drive last year, but we got a lot of calls from people in the community who asked how they could make a donation,” Cindy Johnson, the UWSC’s director of marketing, said. “We just decided to do our part and help collect.”
United Way’s drive ended on Dec. 10, and they collected over 400 toys and approximately 1,000 pounds of food.
“We started collecting and then the 4H clubs from the public schools got involved and everything really took off from there,” Johnson said.
Donations also came from several private schools and home school clubs, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
“We were extremely surprised with just how much we received, especially with the economy like it is now,” Johnson said. “We just want to thank the community and organizations for their overwhelming support.”
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