Want to help East Texas children have a merry Christmas? Here’s how

Leaders of several Christmas gift-giving organizations are asking for donations of toys and funds to make sure children in the Longview area have a merry Christmas. The Longview Elf Coalition, which coordinates charitable Christmas efforts among local organizations, expects to have a shortage of gifts for roughly 1,000 children this year unless donations increase. To that end, the Elf Coalition has compiled information about how people in the area can contribute to organizations and toy drives to prevent that from happening. “They need our help this year to make sure they are able to achieve that,” said Jenn Eldridge, a member of the coalition. The shortfall is projected for two reasons. First, economic conditions mean charitable giving is down across the board. Second, the Hiway 80 Rescue Mission — which has hosted a large Christmas toy drive and giveaway carnival for years — will not hold those events this year.

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