HOLIDAY HELP: TOYBOX MEANS A LOT TO CHILDREN IN BROKEN HOMES

It soon will be the night before Christmas, but Ma won't be in her kerchief and Pa won't be in his hat for many families.

Neither will many of them be settling down in the same bed on Christmas Eve.

As a result, many mothers are asking for help this Christmas."The children's father does not help me support them," wrote one mother of two. "They want a lot of things, but I can't get them by myself."It was the same for many other mothers. Many of them wrote that the fathers did not support the children. Others said the father was no longer in the home due to a divorce. Many of the applicants simply left the father's name off of the application, signifying they were single parents."I am a single mother trying to provide for my kids," one mother wrote. "I am trying, but I need help this year."Toybox, in its 22nd year, is co-sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian. The program provides Christmas presents to over 1,200 children each year. All donations will be used to buy gifts for children through the age of 12 who otherwise might not receive Christmas gifts.

Parents wishing to apply should take proof of residency and a Social Security card for each person who lives at the address to the Salvation Army, 701 Good Hope, by Dec. 6. New, unwrapped toys and gifts may be delivered to the Southeast Missourian office or area locations. Drop off points are located at West Park Mall, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, Boatmen's Bank, Gulliver's Travel Agency, Mercantile Bank, Union Planters Bank, The First National Bank, Commerce Bank, and Sanders True Value Hardware.

Gifts will be delivered by a team of Jaycee Santas on Dec. 19.

Cash contributions may be mailed to Toybox Trust, P.O. Box 4, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0004.