As Christmas music played over the PA system, staff and volunteers worked together to distribute more than 3,000 toys to children across the Permian Basin.
This is the third annual Permian Basin Giving Tree that is spearheaded by local organizations including One Accord for Kids, The Attic Foster Network, and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. The Permian Basin Giving Tree is expected to give out around 3,300 toys and 1,600 clothing items to foster children.
One Accord of Kids Associate Director Matt Waller said the Permian Basin Giving Tree will reach about 450 children. He said any toys that aren’t initially distributed will be sent to foster closets and Rainbow Rooms across West Texas.
“There have been studies that show that if you can get resources to families in need that’s one of the primary ways to prevent kids from going into foster care,” Waller said. “… We want to give them a great Christmas but then also we are getting them clothes, hats, gloves, scarves and toiletries so we can take care of them throughout the whole year.”
Waller explained the toy drive began in late October and concluded this past Sunday.
The process for distributing the toys is case workers will pick up the toys from Midland Bible Church where the toys are being sorted and picked. The case worker will then give the toys and clothes to families in need.
Waller said he expects all of the toys and clothes to be distributed by Thursday and then clean up on Friday. He said he’s appreciative for Midland Bible Church to use their facility.
“It means a lot to us,” Waller said being able to use Midland Bible Church. “We are able to spread out. We are able to get everything in here. You not only need a space that’s available but you need a really big space. It’s also pretty dynamic because we are working here, storing things in another location and then things are available for pickup in a third place.
“We are fortunate that Midland Bible (Church) is really accommodating. Everywhere that we’ve been has been really accommodating. This year it has really grown, so we’ve been in a position that needed a large dynamic space.”
Shauna Todd, executive director at The Attic Foster Network, said she didn’t know what to expect this year with inflation.
The third year of the Permian Basin Giving Tree marked the highest number of toys the event has ever received.
“We weren’t sure with the way inflation the way that it is what would come in,” Todd said. “People have been more generous then ever this year. We’ve just had an influx of items and that’s been really cool to see.”
The biggest ticket item the Permian Basin Giving Tree received was a Nintendo Switch.
Waller said that item already has a home and it will be donated to High Sky Children’s Ranch.
“They can regulate it,” Waller explained about donating the Switch to High Sky. “I feel like that’s an honorable way to treat that donation.”
With an expansive number of toys and clothes ranging from toddlers to teenagers, Waller said it’s important to organize the toys and clothes.
Todd also explained it’s important that workers and volunteers know how to pick correctly, especially when it comes to clothing for children. The request form that workers and volunteers use to pick with have likes and some have specific sizes for the children.
“It’s interesting to try to figure out what size of clothes kids wear,” Todd said. “It’s great when the case workers with specific information, but if they don’t we can kind of help volunteers figure out developmentally where they are and size-wise where they are at. We just kind of work together on those things.”
