FAMILIES WHO NEED HELP FACE VARIETY OF PROBLEMS

The stories of children and their families seeking help this Christmas from Toybox vary greatly, but all have one thing in common.

This holiday season some neighbors in our community need help providing their children with a Christmas gift and a little holiday joy.

Parents are laid off, out of work, have just moved to town, started a new job, or have unexpected medical bills.

Two parents, single parents, grandparents, families of all sorts are in need of assistance. Those families are comprised of one child or many children.

Whatever the story or circumstances, Toybox organizers hope to provide each child with a Christmas toy and a message of good will from the community.

In order to make that happen, Toybox needs your help. Donations of toys are needed as soon as possible, as the Toybox season is shorter this year than ever in the past.

Toybox, now in its 18th year, is a joint project of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

Toys will be delivered Dec. 17 by a team of Jaycees Santas and helpers.

Applications for Toybox will be accepted at the Salvation Army headquarters, 701 Good Hope, through Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2-4 p.m.

New and unwrapped gifts for children from birth through age 12 may be delivered to any of the following locations: Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, Boatmen's Bank Cape Girardeau locations, Capital Bank Cape Girardeau locations, Commerce Bank, Farm and Home Savings Association, Perry Travel Center, Gulliver's Travel Agency, and West Park Mall.

Donations may be mailed to Toybox Trust, P.O. Box 1626, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-1626, or dropped off at the Southeast Missourian.

For more information call Kim McDowell at 335-6611 during daytime business hours.