Thanks to two West Plains-based efforts to stoke the Christmas spirit and give families and kids a little boost, nearly 700 area children who might not otherwise have had much to celebrate got to be included in the holiday festivities.
An impromptu toy drive organized by five area nonprofits to help ensure all area children were able to experience the joys of Christmas was a success, despite having little time to plan, as was the annual Christmas Assistance Program sponsored by the West Plains Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Alliance and coordinated by Ozark Action.
Birthday Blessings, Always a Future for Kids, the Mtn. View Community Betterment Program, The Chaos Closet and the 37th Judicial Circuit Court Appointed Special Advocates teamed up to host the drive when it was learned that the Marine Corps League Detachment 1184 of West Plains was still in the process of finding and installing a coordinator for its Toys for Tots campaign. Local Marine Corps League Commandant Kevin Conboy shared with the Quill in December that a volunteer had stepped up to fill the position, but could not complete the application and training process in time for the 2023 holiday season. He is optimistic that Toys for Tots will be active again for Christmas 2024.
Toys collected through the annual Toys for Tots Christmas Concert hosted by the Bridge Church were taken to Ozark Action to be distributed through Christmas Program. Children benefiting from that program, per application guidelines, were required to live in the West Plains R-7 School District.
Out of concern for children living in rural areas who would not be served by the program and still deserved to share in the Christmas spirit, Birthday Blessings Executive Director Shannon VonAllmen coordinated with four other nonprofits to collect toys, with donation boxes at several businesses in Pomona, West Plains and Mtn. View.
In all, their efforts provided Christmas cheer to 247 local children in Howell, Shannon, Texas, Oregon and Ozark counties, VonAllman shared. Of those, 187 children were served by Mtn. View Community Betterment Program and another 10 served by Mtn. View Agape House; children served in Mtn. View were residents of Howell, Shannon and Texas counties. In the 37th Circuit Children’s Division, 10 children in Howell, Shannon and Oregon counties were served, and 40 children in Bakersfield School District and Head Start program, living in Howell and Ozark counties, benefited from the toy drive.
“That is a pretty amazing outcome considering we didn't have a lot of time to prepare,” said VonAllmen. “The nonprofit organizers would like to communicate their great appreciation for the outpouring of support from our community. This includes nonprofit partners who donated time and resources to facilitating the drive, businesses and organizations that sponsored boxes, and everyone who filled them with wonderful gifts. It is heartening to witness the compassion and generosity of our local residents!”
Businesses and organizations sponsoring donation boxes were Missouri State University-West Plains, West Plains Bank and Trust Company, 37th Judicial CASA, Southern Missouri Community Health Clinic, West Plains Public Library, Ozarks Healthcare, Ozarks Small Business Incubator, Ozark Marketing, First United Methodist Church of West Plains, Community First Banking Company, Missouri Home Realty, Dollar General in Mtn. View and Great Rivers Distributing.
The chamber’s Christmas Assistance Program coordinated by Ozark Action was also deemed a success, with applications from 173 households processed, said chamber officials, noting those households included 450 children through the age of 14.
In order to help as many people as possible, efforts were coordinated with other local organizations offering Christmas assistance, and through that coordination between businesses, individuals, churches and organizations, all eligible applicants were able to receive assistance for the holidays, officials shared.
“The program is only successful due to efforts and kindness shown by all involved,” chamber officials noted. “A special thanks goes to all those who assisted by providing generous monetary donations, donated items as well as those who assisted by adopting children and families.”
