Friends,

We are quickly approaching the annual Fourth Ward Christmas Toy Drive, which is held at Rose of Sharon Baptist Church (1106 Valentine). We have not yet set a date but plan to soon. Last year was such a success (as every year has been) that we had leftover gifts that we were able to serve to the Rose of Sharon church congregation youth group that Sunday, as well as donate to the Spring Branch ISD police department, who distributed the gifts to area children through their Blue Santa program. (57% of the families in SBISD are economically disadvantaged.) In a change from years past, we are going to “officially” partner with the SBISD police department this year, who will visit select apartment complexes in Spring Branch on December 22nd or 23rd to hand out gifts, including the 3 Corners West Apartments which suffered a major fire in August of this year, displacing hundreds of residents (including children / students.) This doesn’t change what we’re doing at Rose of Sharon – we are simply allocating gifts to both causes.

Thanks to your generosity and support, every year’s toy drive has been hugely successful in the support we received, the people we serve and the smiles we put on kids’ faces. We raised a hair over $65,000 last year and served hundreds of kids by purchasing and wrapping over 1,700 items, including bikes, tricycles, electric scooters, shoes, footballs, basketballs, nerf balls, pogo sticks, jewelry, beauty kits, RC cars, nerf guns, dolls, stuffed animals, magnetic tiles, board games, Legos and more. Additionally, we packed and handed out treat bags, served Dominos pizza, drinks, snacks, and had a face painter, balloon twister, Kona Ice, a bounce house and the Houston Police Department mounted patrol (horseback). Here is a link with photos and videos from last year, including some photos from SBISD Blue Santa: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fjan91wornfvhh5l1ysi2/AIn52e_VAezUfmufOaxM-ZU?rlkey=5udqnw26jqs3g40y0wdp72rea&st=41puag67&dl=0

Thank you all so much for your support and contributions – it couldn’t happen without you. I say it every year, that it “takes a village” and wouldn’t be possible without everyone who stepped up. A tremendous thank you to all who donated money as well as those who donated time assembling gifts, wrapping gifts, packing gifts, transporting gifts, running last minute errands, setting up, maintaining order among the chaos and handing out gifts. 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 BY NOVEMBER 27, so that we can budget appropriately and begin shopping. (It becomes really hard when we’re still fundraising and shopping up to the day of the event!) 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. Even if you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this with your network.

I am going to need more help this year. If you are interested in shopping / purchasing, wrapping, packing and / or transportation, please let me know.

Any and all are welcome to come out to the event. In fact, I encourage it! Once event details are finalized, I will share them. Thank you and many blessings.

Derick