THE PUBLIC MIND: JAYCEES THANK INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES FOR TOYBOX HELP

Dear Editor:

Each year at the close of Operation Toybox, the Jaycees take time out to thank those individuals and businesses who contributed to the project's success. This year we would like to illustrate the generosity of this community by telling you how these various groups insure that Toybox works.

Toybox actually begins well before Christmas. In September, the Jaycee members of the Toybox Team meet and begin to search for a suitable location to store and sort toys. Our 1992 Toybox Team members were: Benita Curtis, shopping chairman; Dean Reeves, manpower chairman; Ed Gargas and Brian Gilliland, Toy Pickup chairmen; Kathy Easley, treasurer; and Barbara Hopkins, delivery night chairman.

This year, we were fortunate to locate an empty building generously loaned to Toybox by Al Giddens and the Giddens-Johnson Insurance agency. Once a location is secured, we begin to shop for items that we know will be needed when the applications begin to come in. The good people of the area Dollar General Stores, the Cape Girardeau Kmart, and the Cape Girardeau Wal-Mart are instrumental in providing us with quality merchandise at great prices.

When we have a location, clothing and toys to begin the project with, we are in good shape until Thanksgiving. Each year our partner in this endeavor, the Southeast Missourian, writes a kick-off article to announce the start of Operation Toybox. Peggy Scott was again the talented writer this year. She also was the writer behind the children's wishes the public read about throughout Toybox. Just after Thanksgiving, the Salvation Army begins to accept applications for assistance from Cape Girardeau's needy families. They are kind enough to maintain a database of those people who request assistance and help the applicants fill out the forms. Kim McDowell, the Southeast Missourian coordinator for Operation Toybox, pre-sorts and numbers each application as it arrives. Kim also organizes donations, publicity, pictures, tracks donations, issues thank you's and many other vital services for which we are grateful.

The real work begins then. Between Thanksgiving and the night of delivery, we receive over 400 applications from needy families. Each of these applications is filled by an individual Jaycee who does his or her very best to match a child's desires with available toys and clothing. Clothing is purchased during massive shopping trips not only from the locations mentioned above, but also from JCPenney in the West Park Mall, and from Sears in the Town Plaza, again at great savings to us from the good folks at all of these stores. Toys are picked up at all our drop-off locations and sorted by age group. Rental Land donates the use of tables to sort clothing and games. The community resources of Cape Girardeau are truly amazing in their support of this project.

All the applications must be completed by two days before delivery so that Santa's bags can be sorted and readied for delivery. The sorting is handled magnificently by Mr. Howard Kinder of Dutchtown. Mr. Kinder carefully considers where each family is located and then places the applications in groups of related addresses. On the night before delivery, the bags are placed in piles using Mr. Kinder's routes to be loaded into vans and trucks donated from all around Cape Girardeau. After all this work, we are finally ready for the night everyone is waiting for: Delivery! Each route pile is loaded into a van or truck and delivered to the children. Again our Jaycee Santas and Elves turn out in full force to assist with what has become our favorite project. They are rewarded for their endeavors afterward with beverages donated by Kohlfeld Distributing and Schnucks, and with pizza donated by Domino's Pizza of Cape Girardeau.

It is impossible to overlook the remarkable generosity of the people of this community. Each year, Cape Girardeau's residents open their hearts and their pocketbooks to help a child who is less fortunate. To those people who contribute so much, we extend our warmest and most sincere thanks. And to our Jaycee companions who donated so much of their holiday time, we also say thank you. You can rest easy in the knowledge that you truly make Toybox a joyous occasion.

Without the charity of the individuals and businesses listed above, as well as others who donate so much to this project, Toybox simply would not exist. The greatest reward in this is the smile of a child as Santa delivers the toy she thought she would not receive. Thank you, Cape Girardeau, and Happy New Year!

Sincerely

Kevin S. Lasher, chairman

Mike Seabaugh, co-chairman

Operation Toybox 1992