‘Holiday of Hope’ Toy Drive Helps Provide Holiday Gifts for Abused Children

Tables are set up, ready to sort thousands of donated gifts for children who come to the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center.

“The shelves will be overflowing,” said Mindy Jackson, director of support services for the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. “I’m actually Mrs. Claus!”

The estimated 2,000 children on Jackson’s Christmas list at DCAC have gone through trauma.

“So all of our children have either been sexually abused, physically abused that rises to the level of a criminal offense, and/or a witness to a homicide,” Jackson said somberly. “And so we really want to create magic, normalcy, hope, healing; and for kids to remember that Christmas is a magical time.”

The gifts caregivers get to shop for free don’t appear magically. They are donated by individuals and groups like Falala Lakewood, a charity started during the pandemic that’s snowballed.

“We are just hoping to be the hands and feet of love,” Falala Lakewood co-founder Jill Scovell said. “They are coming from situations that most of us can’t imagine. Probably a really dark time in their lives.”

This will be the third year that Falala Lakewood will hold a toy drive parade in the neighborhood.

“It’s a parade, but it’s not really a parade,” Scovell explained. “It’s Santa on his sleigh on a three mile track around Lakewood.”

Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center is putting a call out for donations of toys, clothes and other goodies as part of its Holiday of Hope campaign.

Santa basically runs his Christmas Eve route in reverse.

“We take donations from anyone who has something to give,” Scovell said. “Some people show up with boxes full, super generous, and other come with just one little toy. So we just take it all!”

All those toys are delivered to DCAC where they are sorted and arranged on shelves for the caregivers of children that DCAC serves can shop for Christmas gifts, free.

“Well, I think it reminds all of us that in this crazy world, a lot of bad happens,” Jackson said. “But man, there’s still a lot of good.”

Scovell said in the giving, they are teaching their own children a valuable lesson.

“We want our kids to be of deep character and faith. We want them to be generous with their time, talents, and their resources,” Scovell said. “We want them to see a friend that’s down and think I can do something to encourage them and lift them up.”

If you’d like to donate through the Falala Lakewood Parade, it is Saturday, Dec. 3 from 1:30-5 p.m. You can see the route here.