Toy and supply giveaway event helps families in Whitley County

Last week, folks in Whitley County who were in need of food, clothing, or even toys for young children, were in luck as the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) partnered with several other groups to present a one-day free giveaway event on the campus of Whitley County High School.

Toys for Tots was there, having donated all of the toys for the event at no cost. As Special Project Coordinator A.T. Wilson explained, this is in line with the organization’s ongoing efforts to help those in need on a year-round basis.

“At Toys for Tots we have developed the slogan of ‘doing good year round,’” said Wilson. “We’ve been known for giving toys to children at Christmastime for about 75 years, but due to COVID we changed our model and asked ‘why can’t we help people year-round?’ We are expanding on that each year now, looking at other ways that we can make a difference.”

Carla Henson, an outreach and eligibility assistant with Grace Health who was also lending a hand at the event, said, “We are always trying to reach out to the community in general, especially when it comes to our underserved population. We just want to let them know what services that we have available.”

Henson mentioned the fact that, in addition to looking out for patients’ physical needs, Grace Health also utilizes a tool called the Prapare Assessment, which helps to ensure that other basic needs, such as housing and clothing, are being met.

Denise Marlett, Children’s Services Assistant Director with Cumberland River Behavioral Health, said, “We partner with CAP a lot to do events. They help us to get resources for many of the families and children that are in our programs, so anytime that we can get out in the community and assist them we try to show up.”

Pastor Wayne Ross and his wife, Jeanette, traveled to Williamsburg all the way from the Shepherd’s Shelter rehab facility in Mt. Sterling, bringing with them several residents who were able to lend a hand with lifting heavy items into trunks and truck beds.

“We are a 54-bed in-patient treatment center,” Ross said. “And we like to give all of our guys opportunities to work in community service. When we got this opportunity, we wanted to give them the chance to give back.”

Another group that helped out by providing extra bodies to assist with sorting and lifting duties was Whitley County’s very own FFA club. J.B. Cornelius, Chris Cureton, Blaine McCullah, Macy Paul, Abigail Martin, Carl Johnson, Landrey Prewitt and Kim Hudson were all on hand, and Advisor Brian Prewitt said that they all were excited about getting the chance to be a part of the special event.

“In the FFA, we like to teach our kids to be involved in the community,” said Prewitt. “We are very active in our community, so the administration contacted us a couple of weeks ago about providing some students to help out. A lot of our officers are here today, and they have recruited some other members as well.”

Heather Mulberry, who represents the Save the Children Foundation through Whitley County Schools, was happy to play a role in helping to organize this giveaway event in the local community, saying, “We are here helping the Christian Appalachian Project. They got ahold of me through the school and asked if I could help to secure them a location and get some volunteers together.”

“This is very important for Save the Children,” Mulberry added. “We are involved in several programs like this, and anytime that we can help out in the community we enjoy doing that.”

Finally, CAP Warehouse Manager Ben Ridener spoke about the overall mission behind last week’s event, saying, “We have been doing this for 3-4 years, but this is the first time that we have done one in Whitley County. Our main goal is to put smiles on kids’ faces, and help families in need.”

A similar giveaway took place earlier this month, on June 1 in Magoffin County, and two more have been scheduled in the coming weeks – June 29 at Knott County Central High School in Hindman and July 20 at Perry County Central High School in Hazard.

For more information on all of the organizations mentioned above, please visit the following web addresses:

• CAP – christianapp.org

• Whitley Co. Schools – www.whitley.kyschools.us

• FFA Agricultural Education – www.ffa.org

• Save the Children Foundation – www.savethechildren.org

• Shepherd’s Shelter – www.shepherdsshelter.com

• Cumberland River Behavioral Health – www.crbhky.org

• Grace Health – www.gracehealthky.org

• Marine Toys for Tots – www.toysfortots.org

(Photos by LEEANN FRAGOSA)