NATCHEZ — Forty-seven children, and counting, are relying on the Sunshine Children’s Center to bring holiday cheer into their lives this Christmas.

The organization provides temporary housing along with psychological, medical and detail services for children who have been removed from abusive situations.

But it also extends its arms into the community to help children or families that are not residents at the organization, director Matilda Stephens said.

Stephens said that while the center helps children and families in need all year, the majority of the donations they rely on come in during the holiday season.

“This particular time of the year is critical to the operation of the shelter,” Stephens said. “It makes or breaks us for the coming year.”

After the center was cut $46,000 in funding last year and almost $26,000 this year, Stephens said they rely on donations now more than ever.

“We can’t reduce the services or the quality of the services,” Stephens said. “You get very creative about how to take a dollar and stretch is as far as you can stretch it.”

With a struggling economy, Stephens said she understands that not everyone can provide monetary donations.

“The money is critical because it determines whether or not we’re going to operate in the coming year, but that doesn’t mean people can’t bring in whatever they can,” Stephens said.

The organization accepts any and all donations ranging from clothing to leftover food from large events or family gatherings.

“Anything that we can get we will share with individuals, families or other agencies we work with,” Stephens said.

Apart from relying on donations, Stephens has gone digital and said the organization’s Facebook page has been a great tool for specific items it needs.

“If there’s anything I can’t get, I’ll post something on there and usually get a good response,” Stephens said. “We have definitively tapped into social media.”

While the Facebook page managed to clothe a family of six within 24 hours, it hasn’t been able to provide a used gaming system for a 23-year-old developmentally disabled person.

“His mom has asked me on several occasions, and its rare that I haven’t been able to find someone who’s getting rid of one,” Stephens said. “The ability for him to have some type of game is important to her, and it’s not something she can afford.”

For the tech savvy families who frequently upgrade electronics, Stephens said any old CD players, radios or boom boxes are extremely valuable.

“You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to keep teenagers without music,” Stephens said.

Any donations can be brought to the center at 409 North Union St.

Checks can be made out to the Sunshine Children’s Center and be sent to the same address.

Fore more information on the Sunshine Children’s Center contact Stephens at 601-445-2223, maltida@sunshineshelter.org or like the center’s page on Facebook.

 

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