Leadership Rockwall gives back with gift cards for Helping Hands Toy Drive

ROCKWALL COUNTY, TX (Dec. 15, 2014) This year, Leadership Rockwall is giving back to community kids and teens by donating over $700 in gift cards to the Rockwall County Helping Hands Toy Drive.

Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing and Communication Darby Burkey said Leadership Rockwall collected the gift cards in place of charging admission to their annual Christmas party. The 2014 class and all previous alumni were invited to attend.

“The vast majority of these folks are local, so we have a nice, strong alumni base here,” Burkey said. Leadership Rockwall decided to donate gift cards rather than toys in an effort to target the teen and pre-teen age groups.

“We decided to focus on the teen range this year because they aren’t always getting something under the tree,” Burkey said. Helping Hands Executive Director Margo Nielsen said it can be challenging to find gifts geared toward the teen age group, so the gift cards offer a perfect solution.

“That has been a really big deal for us, to serve those kids,” Nielsen said. Nielsen also added that Helping Hands requested the gift cards come from specialty stores such as Old Navy, Best Buy, iTunes, or Charming Charlie rather than all-purpose stores like Walmart and Target to ensure teens make wholesome purchases.

On Dec. 20, parents will pick up toys and gift cards for their children at the gift distribution. Nielsen said a volunteer leads each family through a gymnasium full of items and parents choose three new toys per child.

“It’s probably out most emotional event of the year,” Nielsen said.

Leadership Rockwall is recognized as Rockwall County’s premier leadership program through the Chamber. Its mission is to identify and motivate emerging leaders, and to develop their potential for community leadership by introducing them to the realities, opportunities, and challenges of our civic and business communities. To learn more, visit LeadershipRockwall.org. To learn more about Rockwall County Helping Hands, visit rockwallhelpinghands.com.

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  gift cards, Helping Hands, Leadership Rockwall, Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce, toy drive