Bath K of C sponsoring annual Care and Share program

BATH – For more than 19 years, the Bath Knights of Columbus, along with the Bath Kiwanis, Charles E Wescott American Legion and the Bath VAMC Employees have been helping families in the Bath area with food and toys for the Christmas holidays through the organizations’ Care and Share program. Families in the Bath School District have donated many of the toys for this project through the years.

To help in making sure the children in the Bath area have a happy holiday, the organizations are again asking the children to be generous and give to our toy program. The toy drive began on Dec.4 and will end on Dec. 12 in all school buildings. All students and staff from the Pre-k through 8th grade are invited to participate.

All items are welcomed for all ages up to 10. Most appreciated are toys, puzzles, dolls, games, stuffed animals, books and any other items that you may wish to donate. Please send items that are new or in good used condition. Please make sure that used items are clean.

The toys are being collected and sorted by Adam Deat’s High School Life Skills class. On Dec. 13 at about 12:50 p.m. the students from VEW Primary and Dana Lyon Elementary schools will form a human chain of caring and sharing to load the toys onto a school bus. With the help of the Steve Narby’s Get On Track students, the toys will be brought over and unloaded at the Knights of Columbus hall.

Barrels for toys havebeen placed throughout the community, in about 15-20 different stores and businesses for donations. Businesses may also contribute money. The Bath VAMC Volunteer Services spearheads a collection of money every year from the employees.

For the community, there have been sign-up dates at the K of C Hall on Nov. 25, Dec.2 and Dec. 9, and the toys are available up to age 10. Parents are not asked for proof, but are required to fill in a registration form with name, address, ages, etc. They are assigned a time to come back on 12/18. Organizations also assemble food baskets, mostly for the elderly.

Last year the program took care of 450 kids and did 225 food baskets.

On Saturday, Dec. 18, the parents return to the K of C hall at their assigned times, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The K of C hosts four to five families every 15 minutes all day long. Each family can get one to new toys, 2or two to three old toys, books, etc.