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On December 8 and 9, the Artic Mission will hold its 8th Annual Christmas Toy Days to benefit local children in need.
According to Executive Director Charlie Nault, the event provides five or six toys each to more than 300 local children who might not receive them otherwise.
"A number of things make the event very different from other toy drives, each aligned with our commitment to the family unit, and to the dignity of each parent," said Nault in a recent letter about the event:
- Parents register in advance, and commit to earning points through our system of life-enhancing classes and activities. There is no dignity in a hand-out, and no shame in a hand-up, so that’s how we’ve designed our unique system.
- We stock our stores with toys, so parents get to choose their childrens’ gifts, and also allow the kids to shop for their parents in a separate store and wrap the presents, so they are occupied while their parents shop.
- We allow parents the option of having our volunteers wrap the kids presents, or of taking the presents home, in thick plastic bags with wrapping paper and tape, to wrap them themselves. In either case, we encourage the family to put the gifts under their tree and enjoy the joy of Christmas in their own home.
More than 100 volunteers, many of whom work for weeks in advance, are involved with Toy Days, but the drive cannot be successful without the donation of thousands of toys. Nault explains that many of them come from toy collection boxes placed in businesses all over the state and the remainder are bought with money donated to the Toy Days.
The following is a list of drop-off locations for the 8th Annual Artic Mission Toy Days:
Coventry:
Town Hall - Flat River Road
Dept. of Public Works - Flat River Road
Stop & Shop - Tiogue Ave
Central Coventry Fire Department (Arnold Road Station)
Olde Theater Diner - Sandy Bottom Road
West Warwick:
Millonzi Bar & Grill - Curson St
Bill's Pizza - Main St (Harris)
Ferrucci NY System - Main St
Creative Nails - Main St
Ritz Hair Salon - Main St
Matos Bakery - Main St
Pups Grooming
Thundermist Dental - Main St
Thundermist Healthcare - Providence St
Other Locations:
Life Care at Home - 63 Sockanossett Crossroads, Cranston
ASM Dance Studio - 20 Cottage St, Warwick
John Fogarty Center - 220 Woonasquawtucket, N. Providence
A&J Bakery - 1458 Park Ave, Cranston
Atrion - 125 Metro Ctr Blvd, Warwick
Residence Inn - Center of New England, W. Greenwich
Wyndham Gardens Hotel - 220 India St, Providence
Area Churches:
Faith Baptist Church - 765 Commonwealth Ave, Warwick
Calvary Chapel Greenmeadow - 266 Devil's Foot Rd, N. Kingstown
Christian Hill Community Church - 56 Tiogue Ave, West Warwick
Church of the Apostles - 170 Fairview Ave, Coventry
Cranston Christian Fellowship - 1114 Scituate Ave, Cranston
Grace Family Church - 125 Washington St, W.Warwick
SouthPointe Christian Church - Office: 1200 Bald Hill Rd, Warwick
Riverpoint Advent Christian Church - 1107 Main St, W. Warwick
For more information, contact Artic Mission's Promotion Team Leader Elaine Hunt, at elainehunt@cox.net.