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The "Priceless Gift Toy Store" is a partnership between the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the inner-city ministry "Together We Can Make a Difference". The store is located at 224 W. Wilkins St., Jackson and provides free toys for children.
From November 24 through December 15, 2006, we provided a total of 2,118 children with toys for Christmas. Toys were donated to our thrift store and "Together We Can Make a Difference".
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We also distributed 430 gift baskets of personal needs items (soap, shampoo, etc). These items were donated by individuals and organizations including Kryst Farm Market. We received bread from Panera bread and cereal from Meijer. 200 nursing home residents received stuffed toys.
1,500 volunteer hours were worked at the toy store. 1,000+ hours were spent in toy preparation. Over 40 churches, schools and organizations participated in distributing coupons for the toy store. Among these organizations were the St. Vincent de Paul conferences and thrift stores, the "Together We Can Make a Difference" house, Catholic Charities, Jackson Public Schools, Birthline, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, DHS and CAA.
This was our second year working in partnership with "Together We Can Make a Difference". All toys left over after December 15th were distributed from the Jackson Church of Christ.
Donations of new and gently used toys for the 2007 Christmas season will begin October 1, 2007. Collection sites throughout the county will be announced at a later date. Volunteers will be needed to sort donations, prep toys and work in the toy store. We are also looking for volunteers to make Christmas stockings. We have a goal of 3,000 stockings. Interested parties may call or email the Society of St. Vincent de Paul store at 517-784-0721, or store2@svdpjackson.com.
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