Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County (CCC) is hoping the community will step up in the next week to help them in their quest to provide Christmas gifts to children in need in Waukesha County. Nearly 100 additional children will need help this year compared with last year – a total of more 4,600 – due to an increase in applications from needy families this year.
CCC is continuing to take calls from families and organizations that are interested in personally sponsoring a family through Tuesday, Dec. 11. Sponsorship includes purchasing toys and/or clothing for each child in a family for a suggested amount of $60 per child. Sponsors are given a family’s name and contact information to obtain information on the family’s needs and make
arrangements to deliver the gifts to the family by Dec. 12.
“With more applications, we are asking for the community to step up and include CCC family sponsorship as part of their Christmas giving plans this year. This is the last weekend for sponsors to shop for sponsored children and we want to get the word out. The community has always generously supported our mission to bring smiles to children on Christmas morning. We hope, when they learn of this need, they will open their hearts and call to sponsor a family,” said Ruth Page Jones, CCC’s executive director.
Families yet to be sponsored include the following examples:
- Unemployed father looking for gifts for his 5- and 6-year old girls
- Low-income single mother with two-year old daughter dreaming of Disney Princess toys, Play Doh, and Disney-themed clothes
- Parents of two boys, ages, 17 and 6. Older boy asking for professional work clothes and book gift cards, younger boy needing snow boots, snow pants and hoping for Lego or Lincoln log toys
- Family with three teenagers and bread-winner father recovering from accident and needing another surgery
“There is still time for families, businesses and organizations in the community to help us fulfill these children’s requests and call us to sponsor a family. There is nothing like knowing you are fulfilling a child’s wishes, especially at this time of year. We are also asking people to consider donating new, unwrapped toys at one of our toy drop-off locations for those children for whom we don’t find sponsors,” said Jones. Toy donations will be accepted until December 12 at one of the many CCC toy drop-off locations throughout the county. A complete list of toy drop-off locations can be found on CCC’s website, www.christmasclearingcouncil.org.
About Christmas Clearing Council
Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009, the Christmas Clearing Council of Waukesha County is a nonprofit group that matches needy families with individuals and groups who want to help on a person-to-person basis during the holiday season. Families who are not matched with sponsors are invited to CCC's annual Toy Shop, stocked with donated items, to shop for their children. In 2011 more than 4,500 Waukesha County children from more than 1,900 families experienced the joy of the holiday season because of the efforts of CCC and its volunteers, donors and sponsors. CCC was awarded “Small Non-Profit of the Year” in 2011 by the Waukesha County Executive’s office.
