ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Saturday was the day Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition donors could shop in person for the program’s annual Little Wishes initiative.
St. Louis-area residents did not disappoint.
Donors turned out at Circle of Knowledge educational toy store in south St. Louis County for a chance to give gifts the old-fashioned way – to pick them off of a shelf and pay for them in the store.
Those gifts are now being shipped to the child they were intended for.
Donors first approached a Christmas tree inside the store and chose from one of several ornaments bearing a particular child’s preferences.
Henry Telfair brought three grandsons.
“We got a car that flips itself,” one said.
“I’m giving a dyno car,” another said.
“I gave a light sword,” chimed in the third.
“It’s a good life lesson for them to come down here and help others,” Telfair said. “The boys were very interested in doing that.”
Alex Bohs explained her family’s presence.
“We do a Christmas present where everybody has to do a shared event,” she said. “My mom decided this was her share.”
Little Wishes donors Sharon and David White purchased several gifts.
“I love seeing kids having fun,” Sharon said. “So, if it brings a smile to their face and they’re happy, then we’re happy, too.”
“I think after four years of not being able to have the in-person shopping day, it’s been a really good turn-out,” Madison Brown, coalition family enrichment and volunteer manager, said.
Brown said the coalition has more than 4,000 gifts to get out to kids this holiday season.
“With the economy, we have more and more families who are in need,” she said. “So, programs like Holiday Wishes help our families.”
If you missed the in-store shopping day at Circle of Knowledge, it’s not too late.