The gifting mission that keeps on giving
Nonprofit’s annual toy drive brings joy to at-risk youth, kids in CPS care
Portraits of smiling children line a hallway at the nonprofit, Be A Resource, or BEAR. These are the faces of children once in Child Protective Services who have since been adopted.
Other faces shown in photos in the Heart Gallery Houston show children still waiting for their forever homes, and those images inspire volunteers to spend their holiday season giving back.
Be A Resource supports these children through an annual toy distribution for children in Child Protective Services called BEARing Gifts in hopes of spreading holiday cheer for children hoping to find a family all over the Greater Houston area.
Volunteers gathered at the BEAR Warehouse Saturday morning at 3572 E. T C Jester Blvd. to scan, organize and package donations to be sent to children at nearby agencies.
“We’re here to provide a little holiday cheer to at-risk and
Child Protective Services-involved children in our community who otherwise may not experience the joy of the holidays,” said Tammy Hetmaniak, executive director of the organization. “The holiday season is very tough for these kiddos because the holidays mean spending time with your family. And these children are often in the custody of the state of Texas and are not able to spend time with their families for circumstances that they had no control over.”
Annually, Be A Resource serves over 19,000 youth between the ages of newborn to 17.
Through this program, community members are able to sponsor a child by signing up to receive their wishlist and donate presents for Christmas.
In the warehouse, towers of toys are stacked on top of tables and are organized by the ages and genders of the children receiving gifts.
From dolls and Barbie sports cars to Spiderman action figures and NERF guns, no child’s wish goes unheard.
“The need is great during the holidays, as it is year-round, but it’s a blessing to be able to serve more kids each year and to know that we’re providing smiles on Christmas morning that otherwise would not be,” said Merri Hahn, community outreach coordinator of the organization and manager of Heart Gallery Houston.
The organization has been serving the Houston community for 25 years, and in its early days, only served children in Harris County.
Now, they have expanded the areas they serve so all their ‘kiddos’ have an opportunity to get toys and the resources that they need year-round.
“The beauty of BEAR is we serve the Greater Houston Area, so whether the need is up north or down south in Galveston, it doesn’t matter,” said Rebecca Moran, outreach coordinator of the organization.
“It’s just a little bit of joy that a child can receive during the holidays in the midst of everything that they’re facing at the current time,” she said.
More businesses and local organizations contribute to the donations and volunteer work each year, and one of the organization’s biggest supporters is 89.3 KSBJ, a Contemporary Christian radio station in Humble.
“We’ve been partnering with BEAR for four years; we look forward to this every year,” said Kim Kossie McKee, the community relations director at the radio station. She is also the senior pastor at the Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church in Fifth Ward.
The radio station has what they call BEAR stops around the city where residents can drop off gifts and toys for the distribution.
“Houston is known to be one of the most charitable cities in the nation, and I can say from the experience I’ve had working with nonprofits, I’ve seen it first hand,” she said.
Brenda Jones, 70, showed up every day for a week to volunteer. She brought her granddaughter Aneesa Ballard, 14, to help Saturday because volunteering together is part of the pair’s special bond.
“This is something fun that I can do with Anessa because she’s getting older now so she can do more things at Christmas by helping others,” Jones said. “I hope that a lot of kids benefit from all of this Christmas giving and that no kid feels left behind.”