BRIGHTENING TULARE COUNTY CHILDREN’S WINTER SKY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2009

Contact: Debbie Benavente, Human Services
559.737.4660


BRIGHTENING TULARE COUNTY CHILDREN’S WINTER SKY

Child Welfare Services and Friends of Tulare County Kicks Off Their Annual Toy Drive


VISALIA –The Tulare County Child Welfare Services (CWS) and Friends of Tulare County are happy to announce their annual "Brighten a Child's Winter Sky" toy drive kick off. CWS and Friends of Tulare County will begin collecting toys and will continue to accept donations through Friday, December 11th.

The CWS Toy Drive has been honored to receive generous community support and donations in past years, and looks forward to working with the community again this year to make many children’s upcoming holidays bright. The Toy Drive was inspired by the great work that Visalia Harley Davidson and the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) has done for years with their Annual Toy Run, and is proud to call Visalia Harley Davidson and H.O.G. partners in providing a brighter holiday for thousands of children.

"It is such a privilege to work with local businesses like Visalia Harley Davidson, and groups like Harley Owners Group," said Renee Smylie, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency Deputy Director of Child Welfare Services. "The swell of community support we receive each year allows us to create a brighter holiday for the children within our Child Welfare System, many of which are in foster or group homes."

Although foster and group homes receive monetary allowances to aide them in providing the very basic of necessities such as clothing and food, as the holidays near, it can be difficult to stretch that allowance to include additional costs, particularly when hard times are upon us, as we are all experiencing the current economic downturn. The CWS Toy Drive aim to provide at least one new gift to each child in the program, which in total averages over 1,500 participants.

"We don’t want these children to feel alone or forgotten this holiday season," says Smylie. "These children are in the system because of circumstances outside of their control, and it is vitally important that we help to make them feel valued, cared for, and loved.”
Donating to the CWS Toy Drive is as easy as visiting www.tularehhsa.org. Following the easy steps, you can choose the age and gender of the child for whom you would like to buy a gift. Print out the star with the child’s information and attach the star to the unwrapped gift(s) you are donating and drop if off at one of the many donation locations.

With over 30 donation drop-off locations throughout Tulare County including Visalia, Woodlake, Dinuba, Lindsay, Porterville, and Tulare, donating a special toy for a deserving child couldn’t be easier. Please note, for health and safety reasons; please no gifts or toys that promote violence or adult related themes. We ask that all donations are positive and age appropriate in nature.

For additional details on the CWS Toy Drive, the locations of specific drop-off sites, and how you can print a star to provide a toy for a specific little boy or girl, visit www.tularehhsa.org.


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Media Contact:
Allison M. Lambert, Media Specialist
Health & Human Services Agency
559.737-4660 Ext.2607