The holiday spirit arrived early for Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) this year. As NAM ramps up for its annual Season of Blessings Holiday Toy Drive, a generous and unexpected donation of hundreds of toys from Lesley and Dennis Green of Greens Remote Toys arrived to get them started. This holiday season NAM aims to collect more than 15,000 toys to bless more than 1,000 families with gifts.
The goal for NAM’s annual Holiday Food/Toy Distribution is to supply local families in need with gifts for their children and staples necessary for preparing holiday meals. Ingredients for a full holiday meal, complete with a turkey, is provided at Thanksgiving and a second full meal is provided in December.
Registration to receive food and toys opened in September for eligible applicants and closed after only one day once NAM reached its capacity for the number of families it could serve. To be eligible, clients had to meet certain requirements and reside within NAM’s participating zip codes.
Although registration is now closed, donations are still being accepted. There is a great need for donations of new, unwrapped toys in the range of approximately $25 per gift for ages 0-12. Toys may be dropped off at The Harrell Family Opportunity Center located behind NAM’s main building at 15555 Kuykendahl Road, Houston, Texas 77090, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Monday, December 5, 2022. Food donations may be delivered to the Joanne Watford Nutrition Center (JWNC) located on the side of NAM’s building. Please note that the JWNC cannot accept dented canned goods or expired foods.
NAM is also in need of volunteers to help with preparing for and assisting with the distributions. Anyone interested in volunteering can get more information and submit a volunteer application at www.namonline.org/volunteer.
Last year NAM provided holiday meals for 1,500 local families and toys for more than 5,000 children – over 15,000 gifts.
Northwest Assistance Ministries is a non-profit, community-based social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NAM provides assistance in areas such as food, shelter, health, education and domestic violence awareness and intervention. During its last fiscal year, NAM touched the lives of more than 136,000 people through its many programs and services.