Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 18, 1994 TAG: 9410180095
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
It's a cold, quiet Saturday morning. Most businesses are still closed to the public, and most of the public is still home in bed. But under a cloudless blue sky, more than 75 volunteers are preparing Christmas for the needy.
"This program is like nothing I've ever seen before," said Carolyn Carson, a co-chairwoman for the volunteer effort.
For the fourth year in a row, volunteers came to the empty Hecks building here on Roanoke Street to set up the Christmas Store - a 12-year-old program that provides a charity department store for needy families in Montgomery County.
The program, which operates under the motto "Christmas with dignity," allows needy families to shop for their children and senior citizens to shop for themselves, rather than relying on door-to-door donations.
Saturday's volunteer work force included everyone from Boy Scouts to college students to senior citizens, all of whom worked in organized, military-like precision.
They unloaded five storage bins and three tractor trailers in less than two hours, filling 14,000 square feet of floorspace with toys, housewares and clothing.
It was a monumental effort, the volunteers agreed, but it wasn't all work.
"This is really good stuff," said Coyie Merix, an 11-year-old Boy Scout who took periodic work breaks to check the quality of the toy selection. "It's cool that people are donating stuff this good."
His brother, 13-year-old Brandon Merix, agreed.
"It's a good thing to do," he said, his eyes shining beneath a Chicago Bulls cap as he carefully studied the toy race tracks and dump trucks. "I know there are a lot of families that don't have the money to buy this stuff for their kids."
The first Christmas Store opened in 1982, the brainchild of three Montgomery County families: Glenn and La Vina Tyndall, Sally Bohland and Nancy Bowman.
In the early years, directors operated the program with a small budget and even smaller number of volunteers. They often served about 350 families, operating out of the local high school, public library and other borrowed facilities.
But the program began to grow quickly.
"We never, ever thought it would grow like this," said Cherye Tyndall, a college student at Virginia Tech whose parents helped to start the Christmas Store. "It originally just started in our living room."
Volunteers said this year's program in the Hecks building will provide nearly 1,350 families with $110,000 in toys and clothing - all of which came from money donated by the community.
In providing for the families, volunteers set up the store using a point system for buying goods, rather than money.
Families receive100 points per child to purchase high-quality new and used goods, which range from 10 to 40 points. Parents can usually "buy" a warm outfit, along with gloves, socks and underwear, and two to three toys for each child.
"That's one of the hallmarks of this program," Carson said. "The families are in a position to shop and choose for themselves. There is some choice involved rather than being given a charity box."
Another hallmark is the volunteer effort.
"It gets bigger and easier every year," said Co-chairwoman Mary Childress. "We don't have to sell ourselves anymore. We just ask if people would like to help the Christmas store and everyone is willing to help."
Childress said volunteers are needed for every aspect of the program, especially to help clean up the building and move the goods back to their storage facilities after Christmas.
And they could always use donations, she said.
"For every $1 donated to the Christmas Store, we can get $3.50 in goods because we buy in bulk," she said. "If people wonder, 'should I buy a toy or should I give them $10,' we can do more with $10."
Families can apply to the Christmas Store through the end of Novemeber. Childress said the Christmas Store will operate out of the Hecks building until Dec. 17, and will be open for families to shop Dec. 8, 9 and 10.
Families who think they might qualify for the program can pick up an application at area charity and municipal agencies. For information on volunteering for the Christmas store call Mary Childress at 382-0363.
by CNB