Unite Table Rock Lake invites qualifying Stone County families to experience the Christmas Toy Store, December 8 and 9 at New Testament Christian Church, 21016 Main St. in Reeds Spring. Business sponsors and lots of volunteers are also needed, to help make sure every family who needs assistance has a wonderful day of shopping and feeling the love of the community.
This opportunity to bless others is a collaboration of many organizations, churches, businesses and individuals coming together with donations and volunteers, having grown to 50 donation locations in just five years. The Toy Store itself requires around 2,000 volunteer hours to help the families. Based on signups so far, Unite Table Rock Lake expects to serve over 300 families and 1,200 children, age birth to 18, through the Toy Store, Adopt a Family and Shop with a Hero program of the Stone County Christmas Assistance Program. Larger needs are expected this year since half of those already signed up are first-time users of the program, reflecting continued economic concerns for families nationwide.
The Christmas Toy Store is an opportunity for parents, guardians, or grandparents to experience shopping for their children, it’s so much more than a toy store! Shoppers are met in the parking lot and welcomed with hot cocoa or coffee before checking in and being assigned their own personal shopper, complete with real shopping carts. They then shop for each child, including stocking stuffers. At the gift wrap station, shoppers can have presents wrapped or choose paper to do the wrapping at home.
That’s not all, though—each child gets new warm pajamas from the Pajama Room, new shoes provided by Stone County Shoe Ministry, Christmas stockings from Chances of Stone County, and a holiday food package provided by Convoy of Hope and Christian Action Ministries. Additional local organizations contribute diapers, hygiene products and Bibles. The last stop is the Wonderful Warehouse for clothing items, including adult clothing and warm blankets, before the parking lot crew helps each shopper load their cartload of blessings into their vehicle.
Families with children on free or reduced lunch and residing in Stone County are eligible for this program. The deadline to sign up is November 26, 2024. The Christmas Toy Store will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, December 8, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, December 9, with shopping by appointment.
Visit the Unite Table Rock Lake Facebook page for a video preview of the entire experience, created by Reeds Spring High School Works Intern Dom Hayward. You can also find links to volunteer or contribute financially, or go directly to the signup link at Unite Table Rock Lake: 2024 Stone County Christmas Assistance Store (signupgenius.com) to volunteer. Financial donations can also be dropped off at State Farm/Maureen Darby in Branson West or Southern Bank in Kimberling City.
This small but impactful nonprofit, with the help of so many wonderful volunteers, has blessed over 900 children in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and over 1,200 in 2023. For additional information about the group, or questions about the Christmas store, email unitetrl@gmail.com.