SALEMBURG — For another year, the Lakewood Country Club is working to make sure less fortunate children smile on Christmas Day.
The “Believe And You Shall Receive” Magical Toy Drive is underway at the facility in western Sampson County. Community members are being asked to bring an unwrapped toy to the pro shop.
Gifts will be collected from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, at the Lakewood Country Club, 555 Country Club Road, Salemburg. Along with toys, clothing, coats, socks and other gifts are welcome for young people of all ages. Jessica Sessoms, organizer, is looking forward to seeing the building filled with donations.
“It’s just not for small kids,” Sessoms said. “We’re trying to get all the way up to high schoolers to because they also need stuff.”
The annual toy drive, also known as “Holiday Hope” was created by Lynn Pritchard, wife of Curt Pritchard, golf pro at the Lakewood Country Club. Since 2015, thousands of gifts have been donated to children throughout Sampson County.
“This toy drive is something we at Lakewood have been glad to be a part of for some time,” Curt said. “Any opportunity to help anyone in our community we take very serious, since the community has been so good to us in the last couple of years. We hope anything that is donated helps someone’s family have a great Christmas and holiday season.”
During previous holiday periods some of the gifts have included bicycles, skateboards, basketballs and dolls. Sessoms said the group is working to put bundles of gifts together so every child in a family can get something.
“We’re getting lists together of actual kids that we know and making sure to count the siblings so each home is covered,” Sessoms said.
Through the drive, Sessoms and others want to make sure people are grateful for that they have. It’s a message she wants to spread to children as well.
“For some of these kids, this is it,” Sessoms said. “This is all they’re going to get all year.”
After Dec. 7, gifts will go to guidance counselors at local schools, before items are sent to homes before Christmas. She hopes people and students find it in their hearts to make a donation.
“They see kids come to school sometimes with no jackets and they don’t have the appropriate clothing on during the winter season,” she said. “It’s showing them that it’s not their fault. They need to step up and not make fun of kids. They need to try to help too.”
Sharon Zand Holland, a volunteer who resides in the Lakewood area, said it’s an endeavor that shows how much people care and how needed, and welcome, those gifts truly are.
“It’s a testament to how much everyone cares,” said Holland of the toy drive, who noted the effort was a message “to be kind and to be helpful for others.”
For more information or to make arrangements for gifts to be picked up, contact Sessoms at 910-214-4463.
