RISON - The Cleveland County Cares team is close to wrapping up a record year for the organization that provides Christmas to children and families in need over the holidays.Melinda McKnight, who oversees the project, would like to thank everyone who has donated to the fund this year."With your help, we have been able to provide Christmas for close to 80 kids in need," she said. "That's about 30 more than we helped last year." After sending dozens of helpers to Camden and Little Rock, McKnight estimated that around $250 was spent per child."All of that is thanks to the generous donations of the community," she said.McKnight said one thing they noticed this year from all of the kids is that, "Toys are an afterthought." McKnight said that while they did fulfill wishes for Legos, Playdoh and other gifts, the majority of the requests were for essential items."These kids need clothing, underwear, toiletries, and even pillows," she said. "The things they're desiring for gifts are the things many of us take for granted." She credits some of those needs to "sad" circumstances families have been dealt this year such as the death of a parent, or house fires."We bought 44 coats this year for children," she said. "Just because they want to be warm for Christmas." Though the Cares team is packing gifts this week for pickup and delivery to the families, McKnight said there is still opportunities for last-minute recommendations of families in need before Christmas Day, and therefore donations too.Cleveland County Cares uses a referral process to determine who is helped through the program. All recipients of the Cleveland County Care Fund are referred to the program by teachers, churches, the Department of Human Services or other sources that truly see a need in a family. Whenever a child is referred to the Care Fund, McKnight said they check with that child's household to see if there may other children in that home who need help...
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