Wanted: One big box store for the holidays
The Salvation Army is looking for a little help during this holiday season.
The non-profit group needs a vacant big box store or supermarket in Lexington that it can use during November and December to distribute toys and food to local families.
The vacant supermarket that was used last year is not available this year, said Major Debra Ashcraft, Salvation Army services coordinator.
A big space is needed because “we have a lot of volunteers who sort canned goods and pack food bags and toys,” she explained. “We actually lay the toys out in rows (on the floor) in numerical order.”
Parents are given a number that identifies their family’s items that they can locate and take home.
More than 2,300 families and 6,000 children were helped last year, and that takes space — 25,000 square feet or more would be nice, Ashcraft said. Ideally, the site will have restrooms and be on a bus route. The Salvation Army will provide insurance and pay the utilities.
The contact person is Brent Rafferty at 252-7706, ext. 117.
Ashcraft said that when the program first began, the Salvation Army had room in its gym on West Main Street to lay out the gift items.
“As the need has grown, our need for space has increased,” she said. “Volunteers do the work and it now takes six or seven weeks, until after Christmas.”
