PROSPERITY — The Prosperity Police Department wants to help put a smile on the faces of children who might otherwise not have a joyful Christmas by collecting toys during its inaugural toy drive.

The police department has been collecting toys since the beginning of December and will continue to accept toys until Dec. 22.

“If somebody brings in a toy early on Dec. 23, we won’t turn them away. But we prefer that all toys be donated by Dec. 22,” said Prosperity Police Chief David Beddingfield.

The community is encouraged to bring in new, unwrapped toys for either a boy or girl of any age group. Once toys are collected, the police department will distribute the toys to the children.

A sign-up sheet can be found in Prosperity Town Hall for those needing assistance during the holiday season. On this sheet, the parent or guardian will fill out the gender and age of the child, which will help the police department distribute the toys accordingly.

The preferred drop off location for any donations is at Prosperity Town Hall, 305 N. Main St. in Prosperity. Toys will be distributed Dec. 23 and Dec. 24.

“If you see an officer, you can hand the donation to them if you see them out, but the main location is at Town Hall. There is not a set number as far as how many children toys will be donated to. We’ve already received some toys but we want to get as many toys as we can for these children,” Beddingfield said.

Different organizations, churches and law enforcement agencies have been doing things like this to help for years, he said.

“I feel that the Prosperity Police Department can do something as well and there are a lot of individuals out there who could use this kind of assistance. There’s more people that need help than there is help,” Beddingfield said. “So the reason I decided to do something like this with the Prosperity Police Department is because it will help us contribute more in a way that could help ease some of the tension for the parents who need this type of help during the holidays.”

More than anything, Beddingfield encourages the community to understand that one simple gift may be all a child gets for Christmas this year and that with their donation the children can experience the joys of Christmas.

“The intent behind the toy drive is to help children in need, those who may not receive anything this Christmas based off of our current economy and the fact that their parents may not have the funding for Christmas,” Beddingfield said. “For some people, Christmas can be a very difficult time of year, because not only do they struggle to pay for things for their children, but that bothers them emotionally as well. If we can help alleviate some of that stress on the parents and also get a gift to the children who may be in need, that’s what we want to do.”

The Prosperity Police Department will be accepting toys until Dec. 22. The drop off location is at Prosperity Town Hall.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Toy1.jpgThe Prosperity Police Department will be accepting toys until Dec. 22. The drop off location is at Prosperity Town Hall. Kelly Duncan | The Newberry Observer

By Kelly Duncan

kduncan@civitasmedia.com

Reach Kelly Duncan at 803-768-3123 ext. 1868 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.