It is still warm and the sun is shining, so it seems strange to be thinking of Christmas already. However, Santa’s elves have a great deal of work to do to get ready for the holidays and are launching the 2020 REINdear program.
Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau’s REINdear program is now accepting applications. We are underway in our efforts to Reach Everyone In Need this holiday season. Forms are due by Sept. 28 and can be found at the Youth Service Bureau or your local school. Due to the pandemic, organizers have had to make some changes to the application procedure and will be doing the application procedure hands free. Applicants will not come into the building, instead, applications can be found at the YSB in the front of the building, on top of the mailbox. Once the application is complete, the application fee and verification of need and residency must be attached and then placed in the YSB mailbox in the front of the building.
REINdear began in 2003 in collaboration with the Angel Tree program and several other groups from around the county, including all three local school systems, the Department of Child Services, YSB, the Family Crisis Shelter and volunteers. These organizations and individuals annually come together to streamline the list of families in need and the process of gift giving into one main database, which keeps information about the children who need help every holiday season. The database includes the child’s name, age, size, favorite color, needs and a “wish list.”
The group’s mission is to coordinate community efforts to support children who would normally do without during the holiday season. It also gives people in the community one centralized location to get names of children they can help. The purpose of this program is to help decrease the potential for duplication and ensure that every child within a family receives needed clothes and wishes.
In 2019, through the generosity and support of the community, the program was able to help more than 1,044 children in Montgomery County. If you would like to provide gifts for a child, or children, this holiday season, contact Cameron Cole at 765-362-0694, ext. 114 or by email at cameron@mcysb.org.
For more information about the REINdear program or the Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau and its many programs, visit www.mcysb.org or call the REINdear hot line at 765-362-0694 and select the REINdear option.
