HOLIDAYS ARE TOUGH ON THE UNEMPLOYED

Christmas can be a hard time for parents who are unemployed, raising children on their own or have children who are ill and in need of costly medical attention.

Betty, mother of four girls, wrote to Toybox asking for help this holiday season because her 6-year-old daughter Christina had surgery on her ears the day after Thanksgiving.

Her daughter was losing her hearing in her right ear -- a condition the family hopes will be reversed by the operation.

Betty's daughters, ranging from 2 to 11 years old, all want dolls for Christmas. Christina wants a Magic Nursery to go with her Fuss-N-Giggle Triplets, she has asked Santa for this year.

Melody is a single mother who is having trouble making ends meet. Buying Christmas presents for her three children is a luxury she says she cannot afford this holiday season.

Melody has two sons, ages 5 and 10, and a daughter who is 8. The boys have asked for Legos and toy cars from Santa; her daughter wants a Barbie doll.

Dawn and Richard's trailer burned down in October and the family lost everything they owned. Their daughters Ashley and Amber would appreciate any toys a caring member of the community could see fit to offer them for Christmas.

Toybox, a joint effort between the Southeast Missourian and the Cape Girardeau Jaycees, seeks to make Christmas a happier time for area families who are in need of a little help around the holiday season.

Applications are being accepted at the Salvation Army Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-noon and from 2-4 p.m. through Dec. 15.

Those filling out applications must bring with them identification, proof of current address and Social Security cards for everyone in the family.

New, unwrapped toys may be delivered to the Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, or to the following Toybox drop-off spots: West Park Mall, Boatmen's Bank, Capital Bank, Perry Travel Center, Gulliver's Travel Agency, AmeriFirst Bank, Commerce Bank, Farm and Home Savings Association and Mercantile Bank.

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

Gifts will be delivered Dec. 21 by Santa Claus and a team of elves from the Jaycees.

For more information, call Kim McDowell at 335-6611.