Each year it raises $1,000 to $2,000 and Lawrence says “we’re pretty economical. We can probably throw three or four events with a thousand dollars.”
Family and community centered events are at the core of Promise Neighborhood activities, designed to care for and nurture youngsters who are impacted by poverty, redlining and institutional bias. Springfield Promise Neighborhood was founded in 2010 with a commitment to work with the Springfield City School system by creating learning and enrichment opportunities and connecting families to additional community resources.
Gift items at the Christmas store are donated and priced affordably. Individual donations are welcome, and several community organizations are planning group shopping outings to donate to the event, according to Lawrence.
“We have a number of groups planning a little shopping spree, which sounds really fun. They plan to go to Walmart or Meijer and shop for some toys for kids and then go out to eat afterwards. Then they will donate those items to us for our store.”
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) and a group from an area independent living group from United Church Homes are among the organizations planning a shopping outing for donations.
Lawrence says donations of children’s books, ride-on-toys, bikes, scooters, pre-kindergarten matching and family board games, sports equipment, art supplies and outerwear clothing, coats, gloves, and hats are all highly popular gift items.
“We will also give participants raffle tickets to enter a drawing for some big-ticket gifts like outdoor play sets, tablets, gaming systems, and big dollhouses,” Lawrence says. “People have also donated TVs in the past. If people want a local alternative for things they don’t need or want anymore, we’re happy to make use of them for families that need them.”
Lawrence also expressed gratitude to the Springfield Meijer store for the support they provide.
“We have a really good partnership with Meijer. They’ve been incredibly supportive,” Lawrence says. “Through their Meijer Simply Give Program they have donated their overstock or short sale items to us and other community organizations. I want to give them a shout out. Pretty much everything we have gone to them and asked for, the answer has been ‘Yes.’ I mean like 500 hamburgers for a cookout! It’s been a huge gift.”
Thanksgiving falls a few days later than usual this year, putting holiday planning into a time crunch.
The Promise Neighborhood Holiday Store is scheduled to be open Dec. 4-6 with the possibility of additional dates to be added. The Store will be located at the Clifton Avenue Church, 1408 Clifton Ave., and open from 4-7 pm.
In addition to toy and gift donations, Springfield Promise also needs volunteers to help work at the Christmas Store event. They are hoping to extend the hours for shopping this year, and will need additional volunteers to help make that happen.
“We are always looking for people to truly participate in the community. Volunteers will be the ones to staff the store,” Lawrence said. “It involves greeting people and exchanging tickets that are used to purchase gifts. We set up a couple of rooms for bigger or smaller ticket items, so helping shoppers find what they’re looking for is another volunteer job.”
Springfield Promise Neighborhood will also host a free holiday dinner for families on Dec. 7 and is looking for volunteers to help serve the meal and pass out children’s books that will be given to each family.
To schedule an appointment to shop the store, to donate or to volunteer: Call 937-505-0330 or visit www.springfieldpromise.com.
The Promise Neighborhood group says the long-term goal of poverty alleviation “depends upon caring for children … If we succeed here, then we all succeed.”
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