Genesis Joy House hosts fifth annual toy drive

68 kids and 38 families received holiday gifts over the weekend thanks to Genesis Joy House Homeless Shelter. Executive Director Margaret Flowers and her team handed out toys to local families so they could have gifts under the tree this year.

This marks 5 years for the toy drive and Flowers says the reaction remained overwhelmingly positive. Toys were donated from local businesses that opted in to sponsor a family this year. Flowers said the toy drive brought in $15,000 worth of merchandise. “The toy drive is for veteran families [and] local people in the community ages newborn to 17 years,” she said.

Flowers says families must register by Oct. 31 to receive donations. Flowers contacted the VECTR Center and the Dublin V.A. looking for veteran families in need each year. Genesis is an organization dedicated to rehabilitating homeless veterans. Specifically the organization aspires to provide housing for homeless female veterans in need. Currently the shelter is working on a duplex project that would house 14 homeless veterans from the Dublin V.A. Flowers said the organization is in desperate need of volunteers to bring the project to close. Interested parties should contact Flowers at 478.918.7606.