Salvation Army in Greater Cleveland reports more families needing Christmas help

Maia Belay
·2 min read

CLEVELAND (WJW) – The Salvation Army in Greater Cleveland is short on toys for kids this Christmas and desperately seeking donations amid a staggering increase in requests for assistance.

“Here in the toy warehouse, we are surrounded by somewhere north of 12,000 toys and the problem is we need a whole lot more,” said Captain Joel Ashcraft, divisional secretary of the Salvation Army in Greater Cleveland.

The need this year is greater than ever before and a significant increase from what organizers initially forecast. The Salvation Army location in Miles Park reported a 115% increase in sign-ups for assistance.

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Last year, Ashcraft said nearly 4,000 children were served across the area. This year, nearly 2,000 additional families requested help.

“The way wages have remained stagnant across this area, we found there was an even greater increase,” said Ashcraft. “We’re serving nearly 6,000 children, that’s nearly a 50% increase from where we were last year.”

The most critical toy donations are needed for children ages three to five years old.

“The need is still there, there’s still a pandemic hangover,” said Ashcraft. “All these families have been coming to us saying, listen, we still need help getting on our feet, jobs have been difficult to come by.”

Ashcraft said volunteers are also needed to help sort and pack toys for families.

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“The best part is when you can match up what they want, like a gel blaster and you find the gel blaster that they want and you know they’re going to be excited Christmas morning,” said Emilee Evans.

Toys can be donated at SalvationArmyCleveland.org. New and unwrapped toys can also be delivered to 2507 E. 22nd St., Cleveland.

“Every single toy in this place represents a child and it’s not just a piece of plastic that’s going to make a kid happy. It’s something that’s going to give them an opportunity to make them feel loved and feel valued, and we want to give that gift to those kids,” said Ashcraft.

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