ARLINGTON — Sara McCarter has two daughters, ages 7 and 9. She and her husband are both unemployed, and while he’s been looking for work, health issues have prevented her from doing the same.
Although they receive a small amount from her Supplemental Security Income, they’ve lost their house and have been looking for other lodging.
“If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t be able to give my girls any Christmas at all,” McCarter said of Operation Christmas Hope, a joint project of the Arlington American Legion and Arlington Community Food Bank.
McCarter’s family is one of more than 600 that was referred to the toy store in the Legion Post Hall on Dec. 18 by not only the food bank, but also Arlington Kids’ Kloset, the Apple Preschool, the Department of Social and Health Services, and the Darrington Family Support and Resource Center.
“We’ve had lots of people this year who were both directly and indirectly affected by the Oso slide in some way,” said Tina Davis, one of the coordinators of Operation Christmas Hope.
The community has responded to this level of need with strong support.
Every shopper, regardless how many kids they have, is not allowed to leave without taking a board game and a bobble-head doll, and they’re all given a chance to enter a raffle for three children’s bicycles that were donated.
“People love to buy things for little kids, but we usually have to shop for the older ones,” Davis said. “Fortunately, we got plenty of gift cards to do the job.”
In addition to Arlington Hardware & Lumber donating $600 in gift cards to its own store, people have bought gift cards for Starbucks, Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond, for an estimated total of $1,000.
“When I was fourteen, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and back then, it took months for Social Security to start,” Davis said. “That year, our family received boxes full of food and gifts. When the opportunity opened up for me to coordinate this event last year, I took it, because I wanted to give back. If we can show these kids that the community cares about them, maybe they’ll do the same.”
While Operation Christmas Hope has received donations of $1,500 from Walmart and $1,000 from Union Bank, Kathy Marquez has been one of its largest individual donors for 15 years. This year, as she did last year, Marque will be donating around $7,000.
“It just breaks my heart,” Marquez said. “I always want every kid to have a toy for Christmas. I moved up north a few years ago, but I lived in Arlington for years. It’s a small community, so it’s harder to get donations here.”
