Operation Santa holding annual toy drive

By Katie Mudd

The Warren Center, a nonprofit agency providing professional evaluations, therapy services and support to children with developmental delays and disabilities, is getting into the holiday spirit early this year by launching their Operation Santa toy drive during Christmas in July. Operation Santa is a specialized event for children and their families to celebrate the holiday season in a sensory-friendly way. Every December, families served by The Warren Center are invited to celebrate the season at the annual holiday celebration featuring gifts, games, crafts, photos with Santa and much more. 

Now through July 31, The Warren Center is seeking generous donors to participate in the Operation Santa Toy Drive. Community members can help bring joy to a child this holiday season by shopping online or dropping off new, unwrapped toys for children ages birth to seven-years-old at The Warren Center’s Richardson office by appointment. This year, the experts at The Warren Center hand-selected gifts to help children reach developmental milestones. These gifts are available for purchase through The Warren Center’s Amazon Wish List.

“At least 70 percent of the families we serve live beneath Texas’ poverty line. Without the generosity of our community, many of these children would not receive any gifts for Christmas. It can be extremely challenging to shop, wrap and attend holiday festivities while caring for a child with a chronic illness,” says Amy Spawn, CEO of The Warren Center. “The Operation Santa holiday event alleviates some of the stress of the holiday season for families who have children with developmental delays and disabilities. Our goal is to receive enough gifts to serve at least 500 deserving children and their families this holiday season.” 

The best gifts to give include puzzles, building blocks, stuffed animals, trucks, dolls, developmental board games and arts and crafts sets. To organize a company toy drive or to schedule a drop off at The Warren Center’s office located at 320 Custer Rd. Richardson, Texas, contact Leslie Chatman, [email protected]. All toys will be collected by July 31. For more information, call 972-490-9055.

The Warren Center provides therapy and support for more than 3,000 families every year. Each day, the need for services continues to grow. The CDC estimates one in six children have intellectual or physical disabilities or delays. In Dallas County alone, more than 102,000 children have a developmental disability. 

The period between birth to five years is a time of rapid development. The earliest possible intervention is critical due to the accelerated brain development during these first years of life. Early childhood intervention programs have been shown to yield benefits in academic achievement, behavior, educational progression and attainment, and labor market success.