Paulding Christmas Inc. is a non-profit 501-3c small volunteer organization that does “Big Work”. There are 9 active board members and several members that have served over the years that still help out on a regular basis.
Our goal is to provide “new” toys to the less fortunate children of our county. To be qualified the parent or guardian is required to complete an application providing proof of residency and income. We follow the poverty guidelines for our area so basically if you receive assistance from DFACS or have very low income you qualify.
We order toys in July of each year based on the number of children served the prior year. For the year 2015 our organization helped 2500 children at a cost of $47,370.00. As you can see that is about $26.00 per child. We buy toys from a distribution company at a major discount. Each child receives at least 3 new toys and sometimes more according to donations we receive throughout the year. There are several organizations that collect new toys and donate them to us. We also bought $5000.00 in hens to complete a food box.
Our major fund raiser is “Pennies for Paulding”. This is a coin drive that takes place in every school in Paulding County. During 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving each school has a drive to collect coins and there is a competition among the schools to see who can collect the most coins. The winning schools are presented a plaque at the January Board of Education Meeting. Each school that request such can receive 5% cash back for the money their school turns in.
Georgia Heritage Bank so graciously donates a room at their facility to have the coins dropped off. The Paulding Christmas Board and volunteers then bag the coins for a Brinks Truck to come pick up. Our average drive collects anywhere between $30,000.00 to $35,000.00. We also sell funnel cakes at a booth during the annual Paulding Meadows Arts and Crafts fair. The rest of the needed money is prayed for!