Some Other Place brightens Christmas for hundreds of local children

Generous Southeast Texas donors have helped Some Other Place in Beaumont brighten Christmas for hundreds of local children whose families needed a boost after a tough 2021. Those children will now see wooden airplanes, dolls, games, bicycles, new clothes and other popular presents from their wish lists waiting to be unwrapped when they wake on Christmas morning.

It has been around for so long now that there is some debate among volunteers on just when Some Other Place initiated its “Giving Tree” program, where Christmas trees across the community are decorated with “ornaments” displaying gift requests from the children of families who have applied for holiday assistance. Several recalled that there has been a large Giving Tree at Parkdale Mall, or one of the other participating businesses all over Beaumont, for the last 40 years or so at Christmas. No matter how many decades it’s been in action, the mission has always remained the same: to make sure no child in town goes without Christmas presents.

Juanice Fox is a part-time employee at Some Other Place, and she organized this year’s event. She and a core group of volunteers worked together diligently to collect gifts, assemble gift bags, wrap presents and put together the grand gift giveaway, which took place on Dec. 20 this year. Scores of volunteers, including students from Hamshire-Fannett, Kelly and West Brook high schools, as well as a few Boy Scouts, assisted in distributing the gifts to families coming to collect the Christmas bounty on the big giveaway day.

“It’s called the ‘Giving Tree,’ and we call it the Christmas Event,” said Fox. “Churches, the mall, the schools, businesses – they ask for gift tags and they all hang them on a Christmas tree like ornaments. People take the gift tags and purchase the gift, or something as similar to it as they can find. Then, they can take the gift back to the ‘host’ tree, like at Parkdale or the church, and then we get them here.”

Fox said they received thousands of gifts and reached more than 470 local children this year.

Each Beaumont family, specifically those who could use a helping hand around the holidays, may fill out an application to be considered as participants in Some Other Place’s Giving Tree program. According to Fox, many people could find themselves struggling to buy Christmas presents for their children, and she and her crew are doing their best to provide these families with gifts to celebrate the season.

“They provide us with two choices of what the children want for Christmas. Most of them get whatever they asked for and clothes,” said Fox. “We try to make the gifts as equitable as we can. We also try to make sure that each child in the same household gets the same number of presents. We do our best to make sure the kids get what they asked for.”

If someone takes a tag and does not provide the requested gift, or if a child only gets one or two gifts, Fox and her team will go shopping themselves to supplement their supplies. This year, she said, they had very little shopping to do because of the overwhelming donations they received.

“Most of the toys this year were donated. It was amazing, and at the same time humbling. People were so generous,” she shared. “Every year, the Woodworkers of Southeast Texas bring us sacks of little handmade wooden toys, like a little boat or plane or dump truck or trains. They are just beautiful. They are so neat – and they roll!”

Even hundreds of local students picked up gift tags and went shopping for requested items.

“BISD picked up 175, and St. Anne’s picked up just a huge amount. It was amazing,” she said. “We have had a really good year, maybe because last year was such a bummer. People have been very generous.”

Some Other Place Executive Director Paula O’Neal said Southeast Texans’ love and compassion was on full display this year.

“Last year, we didn’t know what we were going to do. It was difficult. COVID just made things topsy-turvy. This year, things are getting somewhat back to normal,” said O’Neal. “We were blessed with so many people who gave very generously that we were able to provide for all the kids we knew about. We’re always concerned about those who we don’t know about. We try to reach as many as we can.

“We also have a group that’s going out there and providing Christmas for our 230 senior citizens who we deliver meals to. We get them ‘adopted.’ Praise Center does that. They buy gifts for each one of them. Then, we put together over 700 stockings with personal hygiene items and gifts in them for local nursing homes. That all went out last week.

“Today is the day for the kiddos. And this year, because we didn’t have our Thanksgiving Store, we’re also giving the families food.”

In addition to the Christmas gifts, families received peanut butter and jelly, canned corn, canned veggies, gravy, sweet potatoes, cereal and other foodstuffs to put in their pantries.

O’Neal credited the donors who supplied all the gifts for providing so many local children with a truly merry Christmas. She also praised her hardworking staff and the numerous volunteers who help her succeed in her mission to feed the multitudes throughout the year.

“We wouldn’t be able to  do what we do without volunteers. I have five full-time employees and eight part-time – that’s to run the soup kitchen, Henry’s Place, to do special programs and doing everything that needs to be done down here,” she described. “There’s just no way we could do it without our volunteers.”

Susan Legnion has been volunteering for the Giving Tree event for about 20 years now. She helps prepare for the giveaway and facilitates distribution during the event. Legnion said she wants local children and their families to know their community cares about them.

“I feel it’s my calling, my Christian mission,” she said. “This is for the children. This lets them know people care about them. And, it’s fun! We have a lot of fun.”

She welcomes anyone who feels called to join her in Some Other Place’s mission of love. To volunteer or to donate, visit the website at www.someotherplacebeaumont.com or call (409) 832-7976.