DTOC Kicks Off The 2016 Christmas Season With Gifts For Meridian Youth

On Tuesday, November 29th, 2016, The Downtown Optimist Club kicked off the 2016 Christmas Season by helping local organizations make Christmas a little brighter for area children. At the DTOC weekly meeting, a large crowd of members and guests gathered to participate in an Annual DTOC tradition! Each year, the DTOC makes donations to local organizations to help make sure Santa Claus can visit as many children as possible. This year, The DTOC made donations totaling $5,000 to the following organizations: Cans For Kids, Christmas With A Cop, Salvation Army, Chunky River Harley Davidson HOG Toy Ride, and Little Men.

The DTOC was is very proud to include The Debs Service Club in this season of giving. The Debs (a group of very community minded girls) assist the DTOC each year in lots of ways, but one of the most important ways is at Christmas time. This year two of the organizations receiving donations, Salvation Army Angel Tree & the Chunky River Harley Davidson HOG Toy Ride prefer their donations be in the form of toys. The DTOC provides funding to the Debs who then go and try to purchase as many toys as possible and then distribute those toys to the respective organizations. This is a great opportunity for the Debs to give their time and to learn how to maximize their purchasing power all for the good of the youth of our community.