Organizations and individuals came together last week to make donations for Arkansas Children’s Hospital through Festival of Stars, Arkansas Children’s statewide annual toy and donation drive.
The annual toy drive was held on Dec. 14, where people dropped their donations off at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce to be taken to Arkansas Children’s.
The Arkansas Children’s Foundation fundraising group, Circle of Friends Union County was instrumental in helping with the Festival of Stars toy drive in Union County.
Emily Mitchell, Arkansas Children’s liaison for Circle of Friends Union County, said the amount of money raised statewide in toys and donations this year totaled over $300,000.
The Festival of Stars fundraiser stocks Arkansas Children’s “Snowflake Shoppe,” where patient’s family members can shop not only for the child being treated at Arkansas Children’s, but their brother, sister or other family members.
Through the annual radiothon benefiting Arkansas Children’s Hospital at the Smackover State Bank, Mitchell said over $21,000 was raised. She said John Mark Walker donated his time and talents to help raise the money for Arkansas Children’s on Nov. 29.
Also, through the Feel the Love charity organization, which Reagan Richardson started seven years ago, almost $2,500 in toys were donated for the Festival of Stars fundraiser in Union County.
Richardson said she began receiving donations around the beginning of November until Dec. 9.
Richardson, who is now a freshman at Henderson State University, said she started the Feel the Love organization seven years ago when she told her mom she wanted to donate what she would get for Christmas to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
“We decided to open it up to the church, the community and the school and it was awesome the amount [of toys] that came in,” Richardson said. “It was more than I could ever imagine.”
She said the first year they had to load two SUVs full of toys to deliver to Arkansas Children’s, “and each year it’s just grown more and more.”
“It’s awesome how God has blessed throughout my vision of something I started that was just so small, and how it’s progressed and grown through the years,” she said. “It just really puts the Christmas spirit in perspective — how a small town like Smackover can come together and make a big difference for such an awesome organization.”
Richardson said donating to Arkansas Children’s is important to her because she plans on going into the medical field with pediatrics, and in the future, wants to work somewhere like Arkansas Children’s.
Also on Dec. 14, Union County Judge Mike Loftin proclaimed the day as Festival of Stars Day in Union County at the courthouse, encouraging all citizens to observe the day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities.
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].