BEAUMONT, Texas — Child Protective Services are asking Southeast Texans to donate to their secret store, so they can bring holiday cheer to thousands of area children.
CPS has started taking donations for Santa's Store. The location of it has been kept a secret.
Children who make the store’s wish list are all being helped by Child Protective Services or are in foster care.
“They deserve a really good Christmas this year. We've had a couple of hard years with COVID. They've been stuck inside the homes, sometimes with their abusers,” Shari Pulliam, media specialist for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said
The store gives CPS caseworkers a place to come and shop for children during the holiday season.
“It’s my own Santa workshop,” Pulliam said. “We started it about 10 years ago, and it’s a place where Child Protective Services caseworkers can come and pick out gifts for the children on their workload.”
Donations from individuals and businesses have already started arriving. However; due to an increased need, DFPS officials say they still do not have enough.
“We need a lot more gifts this year,” Pulliam said. “Our donations are down, a bit down. We served 2,000 kids out of this Santa’s store last year. So, it takes a lot of gifts and a big sleigh to be able to serve that many children.”
CPS caseworkers from the Jefferson and Orange Counties will be at their secret location next week with wish lists from more than 2,000 children.
“They might look at this and say, ‘Wow, there's a lot of toys already,’ but we need a lot more toys,” Pulliam said. “We don't have very many bikes. We don’t have very many skateboards or scooters. Teen gifts are really hard to come by. People think that we only have small children in foster care, and a lot of our population are ages 10 and up,”
Those who would like to donate will have to do so by Monday, Dec. 20. Donations can be dropped off donations at various locations including:
Beaumont Fire Stations
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 1 located at 1675 Caldwell Ave.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 2 located at 4990 Helbig Rd.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 3 located at 805 Woodrow Ave.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 4 located at 1301 W Lucas Dr.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 5 located at 6375 Walden Rd.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 6 located at 1880 S Major Dr.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 7 located at 1710 McFaddin Ave.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 8 located at 6297 TX-105
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 9 located at 7010 Gladys Ave.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 10 located at 3855 Washington Blvd.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 11 located at 525 Royal St.
- Beaumont Fire/Rescue Station No. 14 located at 8250 Old Voth Rd.
Mike Smith BMW in Beaumont
- Located at 1855 I-10, Beaumont, TX 77701
Taco Rey in Nederland
- Located at 1505 Nederland Ave
Landlord's Daiquiri Den in Port Arthur
- Located at 1645 Jefferson Dr Suite 180A
“It's important that we really shower them this year with some great gifts,” Pulliam said. “We definitely can use Southeast Texas generosity and Christmas cheer this year.”