Be an Elf!

Many children in the care of Boys & Girls Town do not have family with whom they can spend the holidays. Some children are not able to join family members. In most cases these toys and gifts donated by caring community members will be the only gifts the children receive. To donate items, click here to learn about toy drives in your area.

To donate items or funds to help buy presents, please call or email your local campus.
• Columbia (573) 874-8686 or email Alana.Mills@bgtm.org
• Springfield (417) 864-3972 or email Andrea.Vent@bgtm.org
• St. James (573) 265-3251 or email Crystal.Bahr@bgtm.org
• St. Louis (314) 256-4903 or email jennifer.wilson@bgtm.org

If you prefer to make a direct donation to help children who suffer from the effects of abuse and neglect or emotional problems, click here.

Thanks to Tim McAmis, a professional race car chassis builder from Hawk Point, Mo., who is a regional trustee for Boys & Girls Town, and the hard work of volunteers from his company, family and friends, children and families enjoyed an exciting day the National Guard American Drag Racing League Hardee's Gateway Drags II at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. The thrill of watching cars accelerating to more than 200 miles per hour in less than 3.7 seconds will be remembered by all along with the honor of singing the national anthem and participating in the presentation of the colors before the sold-out crowd. Children and families were treated as VIPs and served a meal catered by event sponsor Hardee’s.

Volunteers from Maryville University in St. Louis spent a long day of raking, weeding, trimming shrubs and spreading lots of mulch at the St. Louis Center campus. The university stresses volunteerism as part of its curriculum. To encourage students and staff to volunteer in the community, the university designates a volunteer day each year. Volunteers are dismissed from class so they can participate.

Thanks to the helping hands and caring hearts of employee volunteers during Kraft Foods Company Make a Delicious Difference Week, Sherer Cottage in Springfield is a more beautiful place. Each day volunteers from Kraft helped make each of the girls’ rooms and the cottage more kid-friendly. They painted bedrooms, removed wallpaper, and painted the hallway, front entrance foyer and dining room. When they saw something that needed to be done, they took care of it – including putting together a new bookshelf, repairing walls and washing dishes.