Waldorf, MD— With Christmas two weeks away, staff members of the Judy Center spent a recent morning and afternoon at Waldorf West library collecting and sorting donations of toys and other gifts.
Thirteen families who have children attending Judy Centers will receive items donated by the center’s partners. Partners “adopted” a family and bought for every member, not just for the Judy Center student in the family, Margo Alam, instructional specialist and program coordinator for the Charles County Judy Center, said. The centers are at C. Paul Barnhart, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, J.P. Ryon and Eva Turner elementary schools and serve children up to 5 years, preparing them to enter kindergarten.
Staff members at each center asked families if they wanted to participate to receive gifts and if they did, the family submitted a wish list of what each child would like. Donations of dolls, books, toy trucks and bicycles rolled in, with all the gifts requested donated, Alam said. It wasn’t hard to sell the program to the partners, she said. Many enlisted the help of family and friends to collect gifts.
“This is the first year we put out an appeal to support an entire family,” Alam said. “And our partners were willing to help. And they went over and beyond.”
Businesses and organizations that partner with the Judy Center are Alphabest, American Community Properties Trust, BB&T Bank, Books A Million, Center for Chidlren, Charles County Department of Health, Charles County Department of Social Services, Charles County Infants and Toddlers Program, Charles County Public Library, Charles County Public Schools, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Community Services, Family Connection, Family Resource Center, Good Shepherd Education Center, Greater Baden Medical Services, Gwynn Center, Health Partners Inc., Healthy Families Charles County, KinderCare Learning Center Inc., Kiwanis, Lifelong Learning Center, Lions Club, March of Dimes, Maryland Cooperative Extension, Maternal Child Health, My Gym, Parent Center, PNC Bank, Priority Partners, Promise Center, the College of Southern Maryland, the Savings Star, Tri-County Youth Services Bureau and We Make Kids Smile, the offices of Dr. Felix Aguto, DDS.
