LUMBERTON — The staff at the Department of Social Services on Monday took applications from 790 families who are hoping for help from the Empty Stocking Fund in providing Christmas to their children this year.
The department’s staff is currently vetting those applications, and a total number of children eligible to get help will be made available early next week and we will share it at that time.
Meanwhile, the task of collecting money to provide those children Christmas begins in earnest on Monday when The Robesonian will begin taking in-person donations.
The newspaper was flooded out of its office at 2175 Roberts Ave. during Hurricane Florence and has established a temporary office at 308 E. Fourth St. in downtown Lumberton. We are asking that donations be taken to the temporary location, where Amanda Revels and Tammy Oxendine will assist anyone hoping to make a gift. The newspaper will return to the Roberts Avenue address pretty soon, and will announce when donations can be made there.
For the first time, the newspaper is able to take donations over the phone by credit card. To do so, call either Oxendine at 910-816-1980, Revels at 910-416-5872 or Clarissa Jackson at 910-416-5235.
Another way to make a donation is through the mail. Send to The Robesonian, c/o The Empty Stocking Fund, 2175 Roberts Ave., Lumberton, N.C., 28358. If the gift is in honor or memory of someone, provide that information and it will be included. The Robesonian will publish photographs that accompany donations of $500 or more if that request is made.
The fund, which benefits children up to age 15, was established by The Robesonian in the late 1970s as a way to help needy children during Christmas. Each eligible child will receive a $50 voucher on a first-come, first-served basis until the fund is exhausted. The vouchers can be redeemed at Rose’s in Lumberton or Rose’s Express in Fairmont .