Houston's Fourth Ward Christmas Toy Drive 2023
Donation protected
Friends,
I hope you are all doing amazing. As always, time got away from me and now we’re ~30 days out from the annual Fourth Ward Christmas Toy Drive. Thanks to your generosity and support, we raised $60,000 last year, crushing previous years’ raises. We served over 600 kids and handed out over 1,000 toys, 130 bikes, 24 tricycles, and 300 sets of jewelry. We served pizza, drinks, snacks, Kona Ice shaved ice, and had a face painter, balloon twister, bounce house and firetruck, all of which were a huge hit. One of the teachers told me that was the biggest event the school has had in her 13 years there. Here is a link with photos and videos from last year: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/bzu86ng5a5fsz0llh5862/h?rlkey=f6qaecfm1gpl3gilplwqup09v&dl=0
Thank you all so much for your support and contributions – it couldn’t happen without you. This is a wonderful event, and sometimes the parents are more touched than the kids. These gifts may be one of the only gifts these kids receive for Christmas. This is very much a grassroots event, and every donation really matters. We strive to be great stewards of your contributions, clawing and scratching to stretch every dollar by tracking down sales and negotiating deals.
If you wish to donate, please do so at your earliest convenience so that we can budget appropriately. Check, Zelle, or GoFundMe. If you would like your donation to be tax deductible, please make the check payable to Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church and send it to me at 1300 Post Oak Blvd, STE 1650, Houston, TX 77056. Any excess funds from this event, if available, will be donated to the church. Even if you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this with your network.
Shopping, wrapping, packing, transportation and event staffing are all huge undertakings. Please let me know if you are available to help.
We are tentatively targeting Friday, December 15th at Rose of Sharon Baptist Church (1106 Valentine). Last year we pivoted and moved the event to Gregory Lincoln Education Center (K-8 school). However, this came with some challenges so we will likely move the toy drive back to church this year. I will provide an update once we schedule the time. Any and all are welcome to come.
Thank you and many blessings.
Derick
About Rose of Sharon Church:
Reverend Elmo Johnson is deeply involved in his neighborhood, the Fourth Ward, and he and the church do so much for those residents. If you would like to donate directly to the church, you may do so through the links below or by contacting Reverend Johnson or me. Here are links to the Rose of Sharon church and Uplift 4th Ward, an organization through which Reverend Johnson does much of his work.
God commands us throughout the bible to glorify Him by loving others, being generous and taking care of the poor and those less fortunate.
“There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
Acts 20:35
“We want you to know what God’s grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor.”
2 Corinthians 8:1-2
“Remember this saying, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Each of you must make up your own mind about how much to give. But don’t feel sorry that you must give and don’t feel you are forced to give. God loves people who love to give. God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. The scriptures say, “God freely gives his gifts to the poor, and always does right.” God gives seeds to farmers and provides everyone with food. He will increase what you have, so you can give even more to those in need. You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when you deliver your gift. What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God’s people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God. The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God’s people and with everyone else. Now they are praying for you and want to see you, because God used you to bless them so very much. Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
“God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.”
Romans 12:6, 8
“All the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself.”
Galatians 5:14
“Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said.”
Galatians 6:6
“Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.”
Galatians 6:9-10
“You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.”
Galatians 6:2
“Honor the Lord by giving him your money and the first part of all your crops. Then you will have more grain and grapes than you will ever need.”
Proverbs 3:9-10
“Giving to the poor will keep you from poverty, but if you close your eyes to their needs, everyone will curse you.”
Proverbs 28:27
“Caring for the poor is lending to the Lord, and you will be well repaid.”
Proverbs 19:17
“Generosity will be rewarded: Give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return.”
Proverbs 11:25
“Sometimes you can become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy.”
Proverbs 11:24
“But people who obey God are always generous.”
Proverbs 21:26
“If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.”
Luke 6:38
“God has been generous with you, he will expect you to serve him well. But if he has been more than generous, he will expect you to serve him even better.”
Luke 12:48
“Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.”
Romans 12:13
“If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.”
1 John 3:17-18
“An evil person borrows and never pays back; a good person is generous and never stops giving.”
Psalms 37:21
“They gladly give and lend, and their children turn out good.”
Psalms 37:26
“Our sacrifice is to keep offering praise to God in the name of Jesus. But don't forget to help others and to share your possessions with them. This too is like offering a sacrifice that pleases God.”
Hebrews 13:15-16
“Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves”
Philippians 2:3-4
“Instruct them to do as many good deeds as they can and to help everyone. Remind the rich to be generous and share what they have.”
1 Timothy 6:18
Organizer
Derick Craig
Organizer
Houston, TX