Franklin County Children Services’ Holiday Wish program is celebrating 50 years. Over the history of the program, the wishes of more than 150,000 children under the care of the agency have been granted. Last year, more than 5,000 children benefited from the generosity of the community through the program.
Earliest records of the program show the community embracing abused and neglected children living in the cottages at Franklin Village on Gantz Road in 1951.
“By the mid-1950s, it was routine for families to drop off dolls and toy cars for the children,” wrote Community Outreach Director Bruce Cadwallader in the latest FCCS newsletter. “In 1958, records show the Maple Grove United Methodist Church obtained a list of children’s “special wishes for Christmas” from the director and church members donated and wrapped gifts.”
Family owned and operated Anderson Concrete has the longest history with the Holiday Wish program. In 1959, the company chose to donate $175 for gifts for the kids of Franklin Village, becoming the program’s first corporate donor.
Today, the program is run by five full-time staff members. Elizabeth Crabtree, Director of Volunteers and Holiday Wish, has been with the program for twelve years.
“I love that Holiday Wish is able to grant the wishes of so many children because of the generosity of our community,” says Crabtree. “It is not funded by one large group or large donor but by many different groups and individuals coming together to show their support to children who need that message the most.”
The toys that are most requested are the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Dance and Play Puppy, the Fisher Price Disney Princess castle, and the LeapFrog Leapster 2 Game System.
Toys are delivered to kids by their caseworkers during the holiday visits.
“Our children and families are involved with FCCS because they have tough family dynamics in their home and many of them need that reminder that they are cared for and special,” says Crabtree. “For our youth who have experienced lose or trauma, receiving a gift does not take that pain away but it might, for a moment, allow them to reclaim their childhood and the magic in the holidays.”
For the past eight years, the community of Columbus Underground has happily participated in the program, donating hundreds of toys and gift cards. We will once again be participating during our Holiday Party Thursday, December 19th at Strongwater Food & Spirits. Please bring a new, unwrapped toy, or a gift card, and make a kid’s holidays special.
Can’t make the party? Here are other ways you can help:
• Sponsor One or More Young Child @ $40 each. Call Holiday Wish at (614) 275-2525 to obtain your match!
• Sponsor One or More Older Youth @ $50 each. Holiday Wish will buy a gift card for a teen!
• Donate New Toys of Any Kind and bring them to 855 W. Mound St. (weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• Make a Donation of Any Amount online.
• Prefer to donate with a check? Send it to Holiday Wish, 855 W. Mound Street, Columbus, Ohio 43223.
Photos courtesy Franklin County Children Services, Holiday Wish program.