JPA continues to help area children
By JIMMY GALVAN

JASPER POLICE'S Connie Jordan goes through donated toys during last year's Toys for Tots program. Jasper Police Association expects to receive more than 100 applications for help this year.

For the ninth year in a row, the Jasper Police Association (JPA) will sponsor their annual Toys for Tots program in the county.

Applications are already being accepted for the program which helps provide needy families with gifts for their children this holiday season.

Yearly, the program falls under the direction of the JPA president and this year it falls into the capable lap of officer Wanda Brister.

"I love this program," Brister said. "You can't help but feel good when the families come in and collect their toys.

"In the past, we have had a few extra toys left over and we try really hard just to find some kids to give the toys to," Brister said. "They were donated for the kids so we want to get them to the kids."

She is pleased that area schools get involved with the program as well in the form of bringing new toys to donate.

"We normally get a tremendous amount of toys from Few Primary for the pizza parties with the officers," Brister said.

She said that gifts for the program will be purchased Dec. 19 and bagged up to be passed out on Dec. 20.

Donations are received throughout the year as well as money raised through a pair of JPA fund-raisers.

Applications for assistance can be picked up at the police station and must be returned to the station in order to be processed. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

All applications must show proof of residency and income that must be verified and must be returned by Dec. 4.

Last year, the program served 125 families and already 82 applications have been handed out this year.

Once the final applicants are chosen, the gifts are purchased and bagged up and distributed to the families the week prior to Christmas.

One new wrinkle this year is the addition of a Santa's wish list on the applications.

"We did that for the kids," Brister said. "We normally would just list the children's names and boy or girl but we thought it would be really nice to list something they really wanted and not what we bag up for them. Maybe then we could give the children something they really want."

Brister estimated that the association normally spends $4-4,500 a year on the program.

Donations and toys may be dropped off at the Jasper Police Department on Main Street or given to any police officer.

"We would like to see a lot more donations of toys this year and hopefully closer to Christmas we will see them coming in," Brister said.

The history of the Toys for Tots program goes back to 1947.

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve initiated the program in Los Angeles, Calif., with the efforts of Major Bill Hendricks (USMCR) who, noticing there was no charity which distributed toys to deserving children during the traditional Christmas season.

Hendricks collected and distributed more than 5,000 toys to children in the Los Angeles area that first year.

Since then, the Toys for Tots Program has grown into a nationwide effort, coordinated by U.S. Marines, to help disadvantaged children learn the meaning of holiday giving through the gift of a new, unwrapped toy.

The Toys for Tots Program has through its history depended on the support of communities, businesses and charitable organizations across the country.

The Toys for Tots logo was personally designed by Walt Disney in 1948.

The Toys for Tots Program has grown significantly during the years, with more than 30 million toys distributed in the past four years alone.

More than 231 million toys have been distributed to more than 116 million children since the program's inception.

For questions about applications or for more information about donations, contact the Jasper Police Department at 384- 3471.