17 month old James Haney lends Santa a hand as he drags a bag filled with toys for his cousin. Haney’s family received the toys during the 23rd annual Cornelia Kiwanis Toys for Kids distribution in Cornelia on December 17th.
On a chilly, rainy Thursday morning parents lined up outside the gym at the First Baptist Church of Cornelia. Their subdued chatter was accompanied by the soft falling rain and occasional “swoosh” of tires on wet pavement as cars hurriedly drove past. They stood under the church awning, protected from the elements but not the harsh realities of life that led them there. Then, from across the parking lot, came a man in a Santa hat toting a speaker. “Good morning,” his voice bellowed. “Merry Christmas!”
The waiting parents stirred and smiled; a few returned the greeting. The brief moment of cheerful acknowledgement seemed all that was needed to put them at ease.
When the doors finally opened the parents were greeted again, this time by a small army of volunteers ready to help them select Christmas gifts for their children. Their now lively chatter was accompanied by the uplifting music that flowed from the speakers the Santa-hatted volunteer named Clay Christie had set up in the gym.
The gymnasium was brimming with toys. Bikes, Barbies, remote control cars and scooters…shiny new gifts for kids up to age twelve were within easy reach of parents who, otherwise, could not afford them and whose children are too young to understand Santa hits hard times, too.
As the parents ‘shopped’, volunteers restocked the shelves and kept everyone smiling. An occasional hearty “Ho, Ho, Ho” and friendly “Merry Christmas” kept spirits high as the morning dragged on towards noon.
In addition to toys, children received books from Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County and coats from Family Connection.
By the time the last shopper exited, enough toys, books, coats and stocking stuffers had walked out the door to fulfill the Christmas dreams of 561 children in Habersham County.
Bringing Christmas home to Habersham
The Cornelia Kiwanis Club is the driving force behind fulfilling those dreams. Club members have spent much of each year for the past 23 years collecting toys and donations to support their annual Toys for Kids program. As she reflects on this past Thursday, Kiwanian Nellie Snyder calls it “the fun day”, the day when all of the hard work pays off “because you know children are going to have nice toys for Christmas.” She says, “It’s fulfilling.”
This year, Snyder says fundraising was up and toy donations were up. As a result, hundreds of children will be up, wide-eyed and happy on Christmas morning.
“We just had a fabulous year,” Snyder says. “If it was not for our community supporting us, this would never happen.” She adds, “We are blessed with the many volunteers from the Habersham School System, our Kiwanis Club and from the community. We thank everyone for their generous support of our effort and for helping the children of Habersham County.”
“Being able to give back is a blessing for all of us,” says Christie, his broad smile beaming from beneath his Santa hat.
A blessing given. A blessing received. Such is the magic of Christmas.
