OLATHE, Kan. — Inside one store in Johnson County, shoppers can find everything from toys, to clothes, to toiletries to Christmas decorations.
One store staple, however, is missing.There is no cash register because everything inside the Johnson County Christmas Bureau Shop is free.
“For many of our clients, this is their only opportunity to be able to shop during the holidays,” said Barb McNeil with JCCB . “We want to make it as pleasant and as great as an experience as it can be.”
McNeil and thousands of volunteers worked year round to stock the shelves of their Christmas shop. Starting Friday, families living at or below the poverty line will storm the store, clearing its shelves in just a week and a half.
“A lot of people believe that those two words do not belong in the same sentence – JoCo and poverty – but unfortunately they do,” said McNeil. “There’s currently ver 38,000 residents in Johnson County living at or below the poverty line and it continues to grow.”
Over a nine day period, over 3,000 volunteers with the Johnson County Christmas Bureau will help around 13,000 clients have a Christmas they may have otherwise had if it had not been for the organization.
I’ve got everything from the Transformers to G.I.Joe. We think of ourselves as a mini Toys ‘R Us because we try to have a little bit of everything,” said Karen Boyd who heads the store’s toy department.
Boyd hopes to give 5,000 kids a Christmas this year. While her shelves are piled high with many of the latest toys, she says she still needs more in order to meet the needs of the 3,500 families getting help this year.
The same is true for the store’s coat department. The Christmas Bureau would like for every client to walk away with a new or gently used coat. But, they’re still 7,000 coats short of making that a reality.
“What we pride ourselves on is that the clients are able to come here and pick selections that meet their family’s specific needs,” said McNeil.
So everyone can experience the gift of Christmas.
JCCB is still in need of many items, including:
- Hats, Gloves, Scarves
- Sweatshirts/Hoodies
- Basketballs, Footballs, Soccer balls (official size)
- Bedding
- Small Kitchen Appliances
- Children’s Clothing
- Coats (gently worn and clean or new)
- Toys
- Groceries
- Personal Care Items
- Financial donations & gift cards
