SANTA'S HELPERS 2017
Santa’s Helpers will run in The Log on Saturday. If you want your organization listed, email pgriffin@thedestinlog.com.
7th Annual Toy Drive Drop
Century 21 Blue Marlin Pelican has partnered with Porsche of Destin, Gregg ORR Auto and the North Florida Region Porsche Club of America to collect toys for children who will visit the emergency room at Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast this holiday season. Whether the children are at the local hospital to receive care themselves or for a loved one, the toys bring joy to the children and help make their time in the hospital a little brighter.
The community is encouraged to drop unwrapped new or gently used toys and the staff will deliver the collected toys prior to Christmas. This is the seventh consecutive year for Century 21 Blue Marlin Pelican to host the toy drive, with each year the team collecting more than 200 toys.
Toys will be collected until Dec. 15 at Century 21 Blue Marlin Pelican offices at 607 Harbor Blvd. in Destin, 4987 E. Co. Hwy. 30A in Santa Rosa Beach and 42 Business Centre Drive #112 in Miramar Beach. Other locations in Destin include Porsche of Destin, 808 Airport Road, Greg ORR Auto, 226 Main Street, and North Florida Region Porsche Club of America, 607 Harbor Blvd.
Mission Love Seeds
Christmas is a busy time for Destin-based Mission Love Seeds this year with three separate fundraisers going on.
MLS has photos on their Facebook page of kids living in poverty and in need of a little Christmas joy. The kids live in a village called Galilee in the Philippines. Parents work hard, but most make less than $1 a day. For $25 you can adopt one of these cute kids or adopt as many as you wish. See the children for adoption at Mission Love Seeds Charity on Facebook. Pay by PayPal at missionloveseeds.org or send a check to Mission Love Seeds, 55 Country Club Dr E., Destin, Fl 32541. They will also have Christmas meals for children in their 12 villages.
Mission Love Seeds and Generous Heart Ministry are looking for sponsors who are willing to help with toys, food to fill the community pantry, bikes for kids and the family for transportation, bags of candy and a Christmas dinner at the school in Immokalee. on Dec. 19. See lists of items needed and drop-off locations on the Mission Love Seeds Facebook page.
Charles and Carmen Stiles of Graffiti & the Funky Blues Shack is on a mission to fill tfill a box at the restaurant for Mission Love Seeds. The deadline to drop toys and/or food is Dec. 9. Please stop by the restaurant/bar and drop off items or call 850-424-6650 for the restaurant0 to pick up. Let's help make this an unforgettable Christmas for our friends in need.
Also, MLS receives calls from parents here who cannot afford to purchase gifts for their children. All age toys are needed, including gift cards for teens. Also needed are new clothes and shoes in all sizes.
For more information or to make a monetary donation, call 855-1055, email missionloveseeds@cox.net, or message on Facebook page.
Village Angel Tree Ministry
Village Baptist Church will have Christmas programs for the women at Path of Grace and their children and families in the area Dec. 17 at the church. meals and refreshments will be served to more than 500 people who will attend the programs. Presents with toys and winter clothes will be given to more than 550, with turkeys, potatoes, fixings for a Christmas dinner, and a grocery bag filled with food for a week will be given to more than 200 families.
Most of the children and their families that will be served are referred by Destin Elementary, Harvest House, Path of Grace, church members, Prison Outreach Ministry, Rhonda Coon Home, and community referrals in Destin, Miramar Beach and Santa Rosa Beach.
Angels can be adopted at Gold’s Gym in Fort Walton Beach and Miramar Beach, Barbery Coast Barbershop on Main Street in Destin, Christiano’s Restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach, and The Preserve at Henderson Beach Apartments on Commons Drive in Destin. Toys may also be donated at the Destin Community Center and at Village Baptist Church on Sundays. Call Deb Hoadley at 850-714-2389 or email dghoadley@gmail.com for more information.
Donations are needed by Dec. 10, but will be taken until week before Christmas.
Humble Hero Shoe Drive
Mortgage Professionals Providing Hope (MPPH) partners with Others of Destin to provide new shoes to kids so that they can go to school with smiles on their faces.
This year, Humble Hero Shoe Drive incorporated a second partnership with Soles4Souls, and collection bins are positioned at churches and businesses for the community to donate new or gently-used shoes throughout the month of November. For collection bin locations and times, visit www.mpph.org/shoes.