After a Tupelo family’s house burned down last year, the mother heard from the local Salvation Army that her children could still get toys for Christmas, even if she would have to drive to Starkville to pick them up.
“She called me and asked if I could help her, and she drove down from Tupelo,” Oktibbeha County Sheriff Steve Gladney said. “She had two small kids and nothing left, and we helped her.”
The Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office collects toys every December for children who might not receive anything for Christmas otherwise, and Gladney said the drive has received more donations and recipients every year since it began in 2017.
The drive started Dec. 1, and deputies will start distributing toys on Dec. 21. Donors can drop off toys in a large box in the sheriff’s office lobby.
The box was full when Gladney arrived at the office Monday morning, so he emptied it into a growing pile inside his office. The box had started to refill by the afternoon, with toys ranging from stuffed animals and action figures to board games and a rubber kickball.
OCSO receives names of recipients via some churches, the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and families contacting them directly, Gladney said.
The drive served about 50 families last year via the school district, said Sgt. Itce Blair, who helps coordinate the toy drive. Emerson Family School and Family Centered Programs at SOCSD connect families with OCSO for the toy drive, SOCSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas said.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of families in the county struggling financially this year, since some parents have lost their jobs, Gladney said.
“Kids go back to school after Christmas and stand around and tell their buddies what they got for Christmas, and there are always a couple who might not have gotten anything,” he said. “That breaks my heart, and we don’t want that to happen.”
Deputies usually deliver toys in person. Gladney said he has not decided if they will this year, due to the pandemic, but everyone will be wearing protective face coverings if so.
The types of toys donated vary from year to year, Blair and Gladney both said, and they sort through the donated toys and categorize them by age group before delivering them.
“(Last year), a lot of what we had was newborn stuff,” Blair said.
The toy drive came to OCSO in 2017 when Hobie Hobart, the owner of Hobie’s on Main, coordinated a bar crawl called 12 Bars of Christmas, and the price of admission was a new toy. Starkville Police Department coordinated the drive before 2017, but SPD Public Information Office Brandon Lovelady said the department no longer does a toy drive at all.
The Barnes Crossing used car dealership on Highway 12 collected and donated some toys last year, Gladney said.
OCSO has advertised the drive on social media, but word of mouth is also key, Gladney said. Citizens regularly call the office to ask what they can do to help with the drive.
“We just try to find the kids that truly need (toys), and try to make their day a little bit better and have something for them to have on Christmas,” he said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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