Smithfield
Club Brings Christmas Joy to Area Children
by Karen Foster
Many hours of hard work
by members of the Kiwanis Club of Smithfield resulted
in an incredible effort to serve the children of their
community by providing them with toys and books for
Christmas. Gloria Seitz, the chair of this year's Annual
Toy Store, and her committee made every effort to personalize
the toy store so each child received the things they
really wanted. The committee mailed letters to parents
at the beginning of October seeking input on the specific
desires of each child. In November, two big shopping
days were held where club members descended upon the
Target store in Chesapeake, VA and bought up all the
toys they could find. Cart after cart rolled through
the checkout stands as very helpful and generous Target
employees attempted to control the chaos. On December
2nd and 3rd, parents were invited to the Smithfield
Center to pick up the toys for their children. The
parents could then decide how best to give the toys
to the children. All in all, the club served over 350
children in Isle of Wight County, Virginia by providing
them with the same holiday excitement that we all associate
with the season. For more information or to view more
pictures from
the project, visit the Kiwanis Club of Smithfield's
website at SmithfieldKiwanis.org. Pictured: Club members Sherry Vincent, Amy Musik, Debbie Stohlman, Sharon Joyce
and Connie Chapman take a break from purchasing hundreds
of toys
for this year's Annual Toy Store Project.