LYNWOOD DONATES GIFTS TO CHILDREN'S CENTER

It took only a few moments to load the sacks and boxes of gifts onto a tractor-trailer truck Tuesday morning, but the gifts will create lasting memories for some children and families in East St. Louis, Ill.

Members at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau adopted 118 families and children at an activities center in the metropolitan area and shipped them Christmas gifts and goodies earlier this week.

Another church, Caney Fork Baptist Church, also bought several gifts.

The gifts ranged from undergarments and clothes to games, dolls and even a few bicycles. The church members were asked to adopt a family and spend about $100 on them.

Several businesses donated gift certificates or offered discount prices for the church to shop, said Dawn Smith, children's director at the church.

The center is run by missionary Chet Cantrell of the North American Mission Board, a group affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. It serves 600 children, about 200 of them in an after-school program.

Most of the families in the area only make about $6,600 a year and don't have enough money to support themselves. There are few churches in the area that can offer help, either, Smith said.

Lynwood knew there were plenty of programs in the Southeast Missouri area that helped needy families and decided to help families in East St. Louis, Smith said.

"It lets our kids see how fortunate they are," she said, and it gives families a chance to help others, especially at the holiday season.

Many of the families send requests for clothing sizes that are two or four sizes too large for the child now because the clothes have to withstand several seasons.

Usually the church sends used clothing with its gifts so that families can get what items their children need for school or wintertime.

"It's usually gone in 15 minutes," Smith said.

There are another 85 families that are sleeping without beds, and the center is trying to find extras for them, she said. Some 80 families were only adopted by churches and civic organizations in the last two weeks.