WACO needs volunteers for 25th annual Christmas Shopping Tours
The Woodfield Area Children's Organization is hoping for more than 800 teenagers and adult volunteers to help them take nearly 600 preschoolers Christmas Shopping in December. This is the 25th year of WACO's shopping tours.
The children will arrive with their wish lists, and be paired with a volunteer. WACO needs adults and high school students to help the children shop, and others to wrap all the gifts. Bilingual volunteers are also in high demand.
"We allot $80 per family and raise money throughout the year to pay for this, along with our other programs," says WACO President Geri McCall-Barrath. "Since WACO is an all-volunteer nonprofit, we are totally reliant on the generosity of the community."
Nearly 400 impoverished children will shop at the Elk Grove Village Walmart, 801 Meacham Road, on Saturday, Dec. 2.
And the rest will shop at the Elgin Walmart, 1100 S. Randall Road, on Saturday, Dec. 9. Hundreds of volunteers are needed for both days. Volunteers should check in between 6:30 and 7 a.m.
There is no need to sign up in advance, but please be sure to arrive on time. For more information please contact Art Trevino (847) 436-9697 or turi4147@aol.com or Kevin Leighty (630) 415-5334 or kleighty7@gmail.com.
"The idea behind the shopping tour is to give these children a Christmas memory, similar to the ones most of us remember," said Shopping Tour Chair Art Trevino. "We send the kids home with a bag full of wrapped presents, and encourage their parents to wait to open them until Christmas morning."
It takes $80 to sponsor a child, but any donation is most appreciated. Visit WACO's website to donate online at www.waco4kids.org, call Linda McGill (847) 209-5513 to charge your donation, or mail a check payable to WACO to 725 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, IL 60194.
"We've done this for 25 years now, and seeing the excited looks on the children's faces never fails to bring a tear to my eye," says Trevino. "It simply wouldn't be Christmas without WACO's Christmas Shopping Tours."