Skip to main content

A Toy, A Book, A Connection


What does community care look like? In Columbia/HoCo, it looks like food donations and delivery, plus weekly food distribution sites. It looks like educational events to help parents be better advocates for their children, self-care workshops, and programs for youth.  It looks like fundraisers to support ongoing programs, and hopes, dreams, and plans for a visionary community center.

And it looks like the joy of children. 




2023 CCC HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE

Columbia Community Care will once again be holding our Holiday Toy Drive!

Saturday December 16, 2023

11:00 am - 1:00 pm (or until we are out of toys!)

Oakland Mills High School (Auxiliary Gym)

NEW Toys and Gifts for Kids ages 2-12 years old

TOYS AND GIFTS:

We're doing things a little differently this year. We'll be sorting donations by age group and bagging them up ahead of time for distribution. So please consider donating Gender-Neutral toys, games, and gifts.

2-5years. 5-8 years, 8 years and older. 

NO TOY WEAPONS OF ANY KIND! 

DONATION DROP OFFS: Donations can be dropped off at the CCC Building, 10750 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. Drop off times: Wed 10-2, Fri 10-2, Sat 10-12. Please do not leave them in the outdoor bin. We're accepting donations through Wed Dec 13th. (After that, please bring donations by 11:00 am directly to the toy drive on Sat Dec 16th). 

BOOKS:

We're also accepting childrens books for all ages! Books will be distributed separately, in addition to the bagged toys and gifts.

(books not bagged up)

IDEAS:

Toys, Books, Winter Hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, art supplies, play dough, slime, sidewalk chaulk, sports equipment, playground balls, jump ropes, blocks, magnetic tiles, stuffed animals, kids snacks (individually wrapped), goldfish, fruit snacks, juice boxes, candy, etc.

MINI TOY DRIVES:

Consider having your own small toy drive to add to the CCC toy drive! This could be done at your work place, place of worship, neighborhood, scouts, your child's day care center/preschool, or with your familiy and friends!

Please message us and we can give you additional suggestions.

VOLUNTEERS:

We will need many volunteers - both ahead of the toy drive as well as on the distribution day. Please stay tuned for volunteer details.

TOY DRIVE COORDINATORS:

Katie Kirk, Alicia Brandys, Valerie Burrows Eshleman, Sue Sharff Castonguay

Please contact any of us for porch drop offs if needed.

THANK YOU!

We appreciate ANY and ALL donations! Every single donation matters and we sincerely Thank You for donating!

*****

I wrote about the concepts of mutual aid and community care last year in “The Restaurant Week That Gives Back.” (October, 2022)  

Community care differs from most charitable giving in that it’s based on the understanding that we are all a part of the process of caring for our community. It’s not: one person gives, the other receives. It’s about human interaction.

During the earlier days of the pandemic, when I was sidelined by (unrelated) health issues, there were numerous times when people went out of their way to do kind things for me. I can’t even remember them all. I do remember the joy I felt when I opened the door to discover special treats and little things that made me smile. For someone who was both ill and housebound, those moments were just as exciting to me as a child on Christmas morning.

I didn’t feel like anyone’s charity case. I felt seen, and valued. That’s community care.

Columbia Community Care began through the spark and hard work of Erika Strauss Chavarria in March of 2020. Many of my readers are involved in the work of CCC already. If you aren’t, perhaps helping out with the Toy Drive and/or spreading the word by sharing the flyer I posted above might be a good way to start. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more