Santa's helpers preparing for Toybox deliveries today

Santa might leave his reindeer behind but he'll be toting plenty of presents when he visits 500 families in Cape Girardeau tonight.

Volunteers with the Cape Girardeau Jaycees will dress as Jolly Old St. Nick when they drop off gifts for needy children in the city.

Delivery begins at 6 p.m.

Along with bags of goodies, the volunteers will be delivering bicycles to 25 children this year. Twenty of the bikes were purchased with a $1,000 donation from the River City Rodders.

Only one other time in the past 15 years has Toybox received that many bikes and been able to give them as gifts, said Scott McClanahan, a Jaycees member.

Toybox is a joint program of the Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian that has been delivering holiday cheer for three decades. Donations were slow at the beginning of the program but it came together at the end, said Carrie Reeves, Toybox chairwoman.

It takes $50,000 to make Toybox work each year. The Jaycees try to spend $50 per child.

Slow startWith lower than normal donations at the beginning of the collection drive, the sorting and shopping were difficult. "We don't have an overabundance," Reeves said. "But we have enough."

And there were plenty of extras that came in at the last minute. Reeves spent much of Wednesday making sure that every child's major request was filled -- The Hulk hands, Leap Frog pads and Dora the Explorer toys were stuffed into already full bags.

Each child also will receive a stocking provided by Notre Dame Regional High School students. The stockings have everything from crackers to coloring books, Reeves said.

Community gifts and cash donations will help about 50 people through Christmas for the Elderly. The program sponsored by the Southeast Missourian and the Jaycees helps provide essential household goods and holiday gifts to seniors. The recipients are chosen by caseworkers at the county department of health and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Stacks of toiletries, bed linens and new robes and slippers were among the items collected through donations. Several church groups and clubs chose to buy gifts for specific people profiled in the newspaper.

Again, donations were low but sufficient. If the newspaper and the Jaycees didn't support these programs there would be a void in the community, said Kim McDowell, who coordinates the Christmas for the Elderly program at the Southeast Missourian.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126