Dare County announces opportunities to give back during the 2022 “Season of Giving”

Dare County Announces Opportunities to Give Back to Those in Need in the Dare County Community During the 2022 “Season of Giving.”

Every act of generosity counts during the holiday season, whether that means sponsoring Christmas presents for a child in need, purchasing food for animals at the Dare County Animal Shelter or volunteering with toy distribution through a local charitable foundation.

In the true spirit of the “Season of Giving,” various Dare County departments are coordinating efforts to connect volunteers and donors with opportunities to give back to those in the community who need support during the holiday season. The list below contains several giving opportunities that are coordinated through Dare County entities.

The Hatteras Island Angel Gift Program is a joint collaboration between the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services and Hatteras Island United Methodist Church to provide gifts for children who are in need on Hatteras Island.

The Dare County Department of Health & Human Services works with local organizations and businesses to provide referrals, administrative support and identify family needs, as well as to protect the privacy of the request. Participants must live on Hatteras Island, and gifts are provided only for the child or children in the custody of the applicant. Phone interviews will be required in order to verify information and assess needs once completed applications are submitted.

To sponsor a child in need, pick up one or more “angels” (containing the child’s requests) from trees that will be on display at the following locations:

• Cockeyed Clams
• Our Lady of the Seas Catholic Church
• Cape Hatteras Baptist Church
• Little Grove United Methodist Church
• Hatteras United Methodist Church
• Saint John United Methodist Church
• Hatteras Island Christian Fellowship
• Buxton United Methodist Church

Drop-off boxes are also available at each of these locations for new, unwrapped toys. Hatteras United Methodist Church will accept angel gift donations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The deadline for all toy donations to be dropped off is December 1, 2022. 

If you are interested in sponsoring one or more children, please contact Linda O’Neal at 252-475-4390. Monetary donations to provide gifts for local children in need are also appreciated. Checks should be made out to Hatteras United Methodist Church Angel Gift (or “HUMC Angel Gift”) and mailed to P.O. Box 310 Hatteras, N.C. 27943. Applications for this program closed November 7, 2022.

For more information about this program, please click here.

The Virginia S. Tillett Community Center in Manteo is accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys or monetary donations for children ages 0-16 in Dare County. This annual toy drive benefits over 400 local youth in Dare County. Toy donations must be dropped off at the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center, which is located at 950 Marshall C. Collins Drive in Manteo, by December 10, 2022.

All Dare County children ages 0-16 are eligible and must be registered for the event. If you would like to register your child, please stop by the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center to register before November 30, 2022, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please contact the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center at 252-475-9270 or click here to access the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center newsletter that contains more details.

The Virginia S. Tillett Community Center in Manteo is also collecting items that are needed for local elderly and disabled individuals within Dare County. A container is set up in the front lobby of the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center where individuals can drop off any of the following new, unused items to help support the elderly and disabled members of our community during the winter and holiday season.

Requested items include shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, lotion, toothpaste, sunscreen, polident, tissues, disposable razors, chapstick, band-aids, socks, gloves, scarves, cards, puzzle books, pens, notepads and blankets.

Donations should be dropped off at the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center, which is located at 950 Marshall C. Collins Drive in Manteo, by December 16, 2022 For more information, please call 252-475-9270 or click here to access the Virginia S. Tillett Community Center newsletter that contains more details.

Through the Elves Program, the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services’ Social Services Division pairs a donor with an elderly or disabled adult in Dare County. The donor then receives a wish list of the individual’s basic necessities to shop for.

Currently, all applicants have been assigned to donors, but those interested in donating are advised to reach out to the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services to see if there are any last-minute applicants or to make a monetary donation to supplement the gifts for these individuals. Gifts should be wrapped and ready for drop-off by December 9, 2022.

Please contact Jessica Everett at 252-475-5539 for more information.

Toys for Tots of Dare County is a unit of the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. The local branch is a joint effort between volunteers from Dare County EMS as well as local police and fire departments. The goal of the program is to ensure that no child is left out on Christmas. All funds and toys for this program are collected locally and used for local children. Over 4,000 toys are distributed annually.

Toys for Tots of Dare County also supports Currituck County in its efforts to provide toys for each child in need. Toys for Tots of Dare County is currently accepting monetary donations on their website as well as toy donations for children up to 16 years of age by way of drop-off boxes that are located throughout Dare and Currituck counties. Drop-off boxes are located in over 80 shops and businesses throughout Dare and Currituck counties. Visit the “Toys for Tots of Dare and Currituck Counties, NC” Facebook page for a list of drop-off locations.

On Black Friday, November 25, 2022, volunteers from the Marine Corps Reserve, Dare County EMS, and local police and fire departments will run a “Stuff the Ambulance” campaign at the Walmart Supercenter in Kitty Hawk. Between the hours of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., volunteers will be stationed at the front entrance of the Walmart Supercenter with a Dare County EMS ambulance to solicit shoppers to purchase toys in an effort to fill the ambulance with toys for local children.

The deadline for donations via the county-wide drop-off boxes is December 8, 2022. The distribution of the collected toys will take place December 9, 2022. To volunteer with the Toys for Tots of Dare County program, click here to complete an online application.

To request a toy for your child, complete the online form on the Toys for Tots of Dare County website. All applicants must submit a request form online, which is subject to verification by the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services’ Social Services Division. Applicants will receive an email from a volunteer when their application is under review, as well as pickup instructions if their request will be fulfilled. Please note that this process could take several weeks.

For more information about the Toys for Tots of Dare County program, please contact coordinator Anthony Hoggard at 252-226-0417.

The intention behind the Lights of Christmas program is to bring Christmas to less fortunate children in the Dare County community. An effort coordinated by county-wide public safety volunteers from Dare County EMS and local police and fire departments, the title, “Lights of Christmas,” represents public safety “lights,” shining a different light on the uniform. 

Through this program, public safety volunteers throughout Dare County accept applications for donations through the Lights of Christmas Facebook page, which are verified by the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services’ Social Services Division. Last year, more than 70 children were accepted into the Lights of Christmas program. Volunteers assign donors to shop for each child’s Christmas wish list. To sponsor a child in need, please submit your request by way of a message to the Lights of Christmas Facebook page as soon as possible. Monetary donations to aid volunteers in shopping for each child are also requested.

Wrapped or unwrapped gifts for sponsored children should be dropped off at the storage unit in Nags Head before December 10, 2022. The distribution of gifts will take place December 16, 2022 to December 18, 2022 throughout Dare and Currituck counties. During that weekend, all forces of public safety (Dare County EMS, police officers, firefighters and dispatchers) will assist with the delivery of toys to each home, accompanied by Santa. The public safety light show they provide serves as a distraction for the child so that volunteers may hide presents inside the home in coordination with the parent or guardian for Santa to later deliver on Christmas.

If you would like to apply for assistance for your child this holiday season, please submit a message to the Lights of Christmas Facebook page as soon as possible. A volunteer will notify you if your request is approved and will also reach out to request a wish list for your child.

Don’t forget about the homeless animals at the Dare County Animal Shelter this holiday season. The Outer Banks SPCA’s Amazon and Chewy.com wish lists that are available at OBXspca.org/Donate cover a range of price points, and you have the option to ship your items directly to the shelter.

As you’re doing your general online holiday shopping this season, please remember that Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to the Outer Banks SPCA when you shop via AmazonSmile. Please search for and select the “Outer Banks SPCA” to support the Dare County Animal Shelter as you shop.