A local organization is working to provide toys to hundreds of children this holiday season under the national Toys for Tots program.
Picayune Police Department Capt. Theresa Milar has been working with a group from World Outreach Revival Center since 1995, she said, years before the group became part of the national program sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps.
Pearl River County Toys for Tots has been providing thousands of families with toys and gifts for their children during that time, Milar said.
Milar said she began working with the organization after she was contacted by the Slidell Police Department and U.S. Marines in New Orleans who said they had an overabundance of toys and wanted to donate some to residents in the county.
“You never turn anything down,” they told her, so she picked up the toys and found World Outreach church, who already had a program dedicated to providing children with Christmas presents.
“I stayed that night and helped them fill their boxes and I never left,” Milar said.
After joining the national Toys for Tots program, she said they went from giving toys to 100 kids up to 1,000. Becoming part of that program has led to additional guidelines to determine who can receive toys, which has made their work easier, Milar said.
Donations will continue to be accepted throughout the county until Dec. 19.
In order to pick up gifts, recipients must have proof of residency in Pearl River County, birth certificates for children and a valid ID card.
“It’s very rewarding, but we do our best to weed out people who don’t need it,” Milar said. “Just because there are people who work, doesn’t mean they don’t need it.”
These policies have made it easier to identify people who may abuse the program, she said.
Milar said on average, about 30 percent of the families come back for several years, while others are able to provide presents without assistance in subsequent years.
“It’s rewarding to see the families that are really in desperate need and to be able to provide something for their kids to be able to wake up to,” Milar said.
All collections and donations go directly to residents of Pearl River County and only new, unwrapped toys can be accepted.
Donations centers are located all over the county, including local police departments and the WRJW station.
Names for donation recipients can be brought to World Outreach Revival Center located at 900 Cayten St. in Picayune until Dec. 3.