ROSWELL, Ga. — Clark’s Christmas Kids celebrates its 35th year of giving and has big goals for the milestone year. The program aims to provide over 25,000 gifts to nearly 9,000 foster children across Georgia.
The annual gift drive was full stream ahead as Channel 2 consumer advisor Clark Howard, 95.5 WSB and guests collected gifts in person at Walmart on Mansell Road in Roswell on Sunday.
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“I’ve been coming to this since my daughters are little and now they’re not little anymore,” Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz said.
“I mean think about it, I was a puppy when we started doing it but now I’m an old dawg,” Howard said on Sunday.
And in those decades, Clark has seen the need change. This year, the need has grown.
“When the economy gets a little rougher, the number of kids in foster care rises a lot. We are out of the boom we saw unfortunately because of drug addiction. Now, we are seeing another rise of the number of kids in foster care because the economy has a rougher time,” Howard said. “So we take care of somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 more children this year than normal.”
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But the elves behind the scenes continue to show up. Bob Schalat won’t miss it.
“I came here a couple of years ago and just by chance didn’t even really know what was going on, I came in for some apples and ended up buying a couple dozen bikes,” Schalat said. “I came back and give again.”
First responders, like the Roswell Police Department, also got involved.
“They’ve been collecting things for really about a month,” said Teri Bell with Friends of Roswell Police.
As people whip out their wallets, coordinators know these gifts will end up in the hands of those who need them most: Georgia Foster Children.“
“This is to bring a little hope so that child knows somewhere somebody out there in the world loves them enough to give them gifts under the tree,” said Darrell Hooker with St. Vincent De Paul Georgia.
There will be two other in-person shopping events:
- Sat. December 13 from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Walmart at 2635 Pleasant Hill Rd, Duluth, GA 30096
- Sunday, December 14 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m: Walmart, 210 Cobb Pkwy SE, Marietta, GA 30060
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