7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015
Healthy Kids Inc.
helps 130 children
The Daily Astorian
The Healthy Kids’ Christ-
mas toy drive and toy-wrap-
ping party was held Saturday
at Warrenton Grade School.
With donations from in-
dividuals and organizations
from around the community
— even from as far away as
New York — Healthy Kids
was able to provide 130 chil-
dren from 43 families with
multiple gifts of toys, books,
stuffed animals, coats, socks,
clothing and hygiene prod-
ucts.
Healthy Kids gives a spe-
cial thanks to the Warrenton
Christian Church for their
generosity with the Christmas
fundraiser, and to the 70-plus
volunteers who showed up at
the grade school to select toys
and wrap them for each child.
Morrow
personally
shopped for most of the cloth-
ing and wish list items. She
was responsible for organiz-
ing the lists of gifts needed
for the children, packing the
clothing essentials and di-
UHFWLQJWUDI¿FDWWKHZUDSSLQJ
party.
“Debbie is tireless when
it comes to taking care of
our (community’s) children,”
Pam Ackley, Healthy Kids
co-director and a Warren-
ton city commissioner, said.
“She wears many hats in our
community, and I am blessed
to know and work with her
on these and other important
projects.”
Healthy Kids is poised to
be able to handle this need in
the future on its own as a re-
sult of this fundraising effort
to ensure that the children are
served in the years to come,
Ackley said.
“We will be collecting toys
and clothing items throughout
the year to ensure we can ad-
dress the needs of our local
families in need every Christ-
mas season,” she said.
Club: Staff is developing new
expectations for the coming year
Continued from Page 1A
membership, that’s not what we
want or are meant for.”
The organization relies on
fundraising. The club has nearly
reached their annual fundraising
goal of $40,000, she said. As of
Dec. 22, they were $3,000 from
their goal for this year’s cam-
paign, which ends Dec. 31.
The club’s chief execu-
WLYH RI¿FHU $OOLH )ULHVH VDLG
the fundraiser is expected to
bring in roughly a third of the
club’s funding, which sur-
vives on donations and state
grants.
)ULHVHVDLGZKLOHSDUHQWVRU
guardians are asked to pay $25
a year for their child’s mem-
bership, many students attend
on a scholarship. She estimated
the club made just $2,000 off
membership payments during
2015 so far.
“We have a policy that ev-
Photos by Natalie St. John/EO Media Group
ery child can afford to come,” Maddie Bolton, left, and Chase Cunningham played while helping to set up the gym for
)ULHVHVDLG
an assembly. Every few weeks, the students stage a ‘showcase,’ where they demonstrate
skills they’ve learned in the after school program.
Finding a focus
)ULHVHDQG:LOOLDPV¶RI¿FH
UHÀHFWVDZRUOGWKDW¶VZUDSSHG
in kid culture. One corner acts
as storage for toys. To the right
of a pile of crafts and glue is
a jar of cow eyes, which the
crew intends to dissect in the
new year when a biologist is
available.
)ULHVHVDLGWKHLUUROHLQNLGV¶
lives is somewhere between
the environment of school and
home.
“We get to focus on the
kids’ social and emotional as-
pects,” she said. “We look for
ZD\V WR LQFUHDVH WKHLU FRQ¿-
dence and understanding of the
people around them.”
)ULHVH VDLG VKH EHFDPH
the director last year during a
transitional period that left her
scrambling. Many of the club’s
staff were heading to new jobs.
And though the club formed in
)ULHVHVDLGLWZDVVWUXJ-
gling to gain attention on the
peninsula.
)LUVW RQ WKH VWDII¶V OLVW RI
priorities was to increase atten-
dance.
Photo courtesy of Pam Ackley
Debbie Morrow (left), Warrenton-Hammond Healthy
Kids Inc. co-director, and Kimberlee Kaul, from Winder-
mere Real Estate, smile for the camera during Healthy
Kids’ Christmas toy drive and toy-wrapping party held
Saturday at Warrenton Grade School.
peninsula’s community, since
many are volunteer-led such as
Zumba, choir and martial arts.
At the end of the six-week
period, the students get to show-
case what they’ve learned.
2Q )ULGD\ \HDUROG
Zoey Parks approached the
gym’s outlined stage in a red
dress with a velvet top and a se-
quin skirt. The club’s space was
formerly part of Ilwaco High
School. The gym was quiet as
she began to sing Rudolph the
Red Nosed Reindeer and was
Diego Flores-Hernandez, center, shows off his contribu- joined by the rest of the choir.
³.LGV¿QGDQLFKHDQGWKLV
tion to a holiday coloring contest.
is the time they can share it with
Williams said this fall the something we’ll need to keep HDFKRWKHU´)ULHVHVDLG
club organized a bus to run in mind as we move ahead.”
Since the club reached their
kids from Ocean Park to the Il-
2015 goals, the staff has begun
ZDFRVLWHDIWHUVFKRRO7KH¿UVW
to create new expectations.
Kids pick their niche
week, they had two Ocean Park
Williams said they also pri- )ULHVHVDLGDORQJZLWKIRFXVLQJ
students — now they have 15. oritized creating structure for on staff training, they’ll look for
After the program is done, a WKHLU VWXGHQWV 7KH ¿UVW KRXU more ways to expand.
bus delivers kids back to Long of the day is spent working on
“The dream is one day hav-
Beach and Ocean Park.
homework. Then, the kids get to ing our own space,” she said.
“We started looking at what pick a hobby.
“We’re going to keep exploring
the parents needed from us
Every six weeks the pro- for ways to bring in more stu-
to be able to work with their gram offers a different set of GHQWV DQG ZH FDQ RQO\ ¿W VR
kids,” Williams said. “That’s FODVVHV7KH RSWLRQV UHÀHFW WKH many here.”
FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED
AN N U AL
“BA C K REL IEF”
M A T T R ES S
EVEN T
S torew ide S ale and Clearance
h ea dqua rters
Smarter. Cooler. Better. ®
Lu xu ry M o tio n Ba ses
$ 599
S tarting at
98% Satisfied
Would
97%
recommend
to a friend
Gim re’s Shoes
After Christmas Sale
S A VE
UP TO
5 0
%
OFF
Clearance Shoes
T HE S LEEP Y OU N EED
Hot
Buy
$ 299
Queen Mattress
TWIN
MATTRESSES
FOXFIELD ONLY
Euro
Top
ea. pc.
$ 94
GUARANTEED
Located next to Big 5
and Fred Meyer
Warrenton
503-861-6085
SALE ENDS 12/31/15
FREE DELIVERY
FREE SET-UP
w/minimum purchase,
local delivery
HOURS : M-F 10-7; SAT 10-5; SUN 11-5
With 3 convenient locations NEWPORT | LINCOLN CITY | WARRENTON
www.americasmattress.com
We Appreciate your
Business and want to
Wish Everyone a
Happy Holiday and
A Happy New Year!
ASTORIA: 239 14th Street • (503) 325-3972
INTERIOR Style
AFTER CHRISTMAS SALE!
Simon & Maggie
4340 Highway 101 N.
Gearhart, OR 97138
503-738-4108
Gifts • Fine Furniture • Antiques
Home Accessories • Decor • Interior Design
109 9th St., Astoria • 503-325-4766
Closed Tuesday & Wednesday