About one in nine Moscow children are considered in need each Christmas, said Faye Nagler, director of Christmas for Kids.
The local non-profit, volunteer-run organization provides Christmas gifts and warm clothing for children of low-income families in Latah County.
The Gamma Alpha Omega sorority and Lambda Theta Phi fraternity at the University of Idaho are hosting the third annual Gamma Lambda Toy Express Dance, an event to raise money and toys for Christmas for Kids from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday in the Student Union Building Gold and Silver rooms.
“There’s so many students at the U of I,” said Charito Morales, president of Gamma Alpha Omega. “If everybody could contribute something, it would be a great impact for those families.”
Hugo Velazquez, Lambda Theta Phi president, said his fraternity had been working on the idea of a toy drive since the house was founded four years ago.
“The way we figured was a good approach was to have a dance,” Velazquez said. “We figured we would attract more people, obviously, in cooperation with a sorority, so we approached them.”
Morales said the toy drive for Christmas for Kids worked well with her house’s philanthropy focus on education and youth.
“(Christmas for Kids) are the ones who are going to deliver the toys to the kids,” Velazquez said. “Then some of us are going to help them with the wrapping and stuff like that.”
Nagler said the organization delivers toys and clothes to between 400 and 700 children living in Latah County each year.
Along with toy drives, Christmas for Kids also allows people to adopt children or families, and sets up “giving trees” around Moscow.
“There is a tree in the (Idaho) Commons in front of the book store,” Nagler said. “Take a tag off the tree, and it has the name of a child and what is needed, such as boots, along with the size. Then you drop the boots off at the tree.”
Schools, individuals, and churches identify the families, and then Christmas for Kids sends them an application, Nagler said.
“Our biggest distribution is in Moscow,” Nagler said. “We do have a lot of university students who are single parents, or who are making below a certain amount in our program.”
The entrance fee to the toy drive dance will be a new toy or a monetary donation.
“In the past we’ve gotten books and different things like that, but we’ve also gotten game boards and stuffed animals,” Morales said. “I think the first year, we took the money, and we went and bought new toys, and the next year, we actually just donated the money.”
Velazquez said they are looking for different kinds toys for all ages.
The informal dance is open to everyone and will be DJed by Eric Martinez, aka “Uniq,” Velazquez said.
The UI Photography Club will also be at the dance to take pictures.
Morales said she hopes this becomes a big event.
“There is a lot of people in the community who are in need,” Morales said. “Poor as college students are, any kind of toy — any donation — would do.”