Photo Credit: Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery Official Facebook Page
It has been a tradition in Springfield for the past 30 years and the largest fundraiser for the Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery for the year. However, in the middle of a pandemic, the Holiday Store will “take a pause” and not open this year- but will be back in 2021.
The store allows children to shop for family members, aided by a volunteer “elf” while their grown-ups wait for them. Items range in price from $1 to $15 and are gift wrapped so the packages can remain a surprise until Christmas Morning.
The store attracts around 2500 tiny shoppers each year.
According to their Facebook announcement:
We here at Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery are saddened to announce that the 2020 Children's Holiday Store has been canceled, with plans to return bigger and better in 2021.
The Children's Holiday Store is the largest annual fundraiser for the Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery, which serves over 1,600 children annually through free, 24-hour crisis childcare. While the actual store will not be open this year, MOCN is thankful to the donors who have stepped up to sponsor the nursery's work during this season.
With these and many more generous donors, Mini O'Beirne is excited to share that the Children's Holiday Store's spirit is alive and well. For each $100 donated to this campaign, MOCN will be contributing $10 to the One-Stop Christmas Shop to purchase toys to include in boxed donations for at-risk families. For more information about the One-Stop Christmas Shop, please visit https://www.facebook.com/OneStopChristmasShopSangamon/.
Also, the Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery has reached out to Santa this year to send personalized letters to the friends of MOCN. For a donation of any size to the Nursery, Santa will write a customized message to send to your special loved one during this season. For more information about Letters from Santa, please visit https://bit.ly/SantaAtMOCN.
MOCN continues to work every day to prevent child abuse and neglect by providing emergency 24-hour child care for children birth through age six who may be at risk or whose parents are experiencing some crisis. While the Children's Holiday Store will not be open this year, the staff and volunteers at MOCN strive to make the holiday season a special time for families in central Illinois during these challenging times.
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