Cape Fear Area nonprofits still in need in of donations this holiday season

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Across the Cape Fear, local agencies and organizations are gearing up to begin toy distributions for families to gift to their kids for the holidays, but some are still in need of donations.

Many area nonprofits are seeing low donation numbers coming in near the holidays, but both the Good Shepherd Center and the Salvation Army say the communities supported them significantly with toy donations.

The Good Shepherd Center and the Salvation Army have been accepting donations for weeks, expecting to serve hundreds of families with toys this Christmas.

Although the Salvation Army saw a steady flow of toy donations, at one point the organization did not have enough for children in the 9 to 12-year age range, until it received donations within the last week.

“We have 2,500 kids that we serve. It’s like a thousand families in the cape fear area and we get to serve them each and every year, and it makes a –it’s an amazing process. It’s kind of crazy and nervous whenever you don’t have enough gifts, but again our community showed up,” said Lt. Shamekia Kitchings, Salvation Army of the Cape Fear Associate Officer.

The Good Shepherd Center will be distributing the toys on Wednesday, December 21, and the Salvation Army of the Cape Fear is distributing toys through Thursday, December 22.

“We’re very excited, huge community support from businesses, local businesses, and individuals, –and Willywood has sort of been the biggest supporter,” said Jane Birnbach, Good Shepherd Center senior development director.

While the Salvation Army and the Good Shepherd Center are pleased with the number of toy donations they received, they are still in need of mail and monetary donations to further serve during the holidays.

“We’re always welcome to have year-end gifts from anyone who would like to make a donation, because we’re still trying to rehouse our guests that are in the shelter in time for the holidays,” said Birnbach.

“Those things are what help us do Christmas and do our social services throughout the year for the kids. So, while we don’t need –we are good on toys, we need more donations,” said Lt. Kitchings.

Although both the Salvation Army and the Good Shepherd Center are not specifically focused on accepting toy donations anymore, people are still able to donate toys that will be used as a gift for a child at some point.