Tokens of Care

I, Mary R. Allen, the founder of Tokens of Care started to deliver some of the services since 2009 with my daughter Kendra C. Allen. The journey began by trying to find an orphanage where I could bring love, care and acceptance to those in need by showing to the kids that there are people in the world that think about them, that they are important and that they deserve gifts that are just for them to keep, to use and to share. That was how we started to visit the kids during five of the holidays that are celebrated in the U.S.A throughout the year. Usually during holidays kids are with their family learning the meaning of the celebration, the adults share memories with them and the kids build their own experiences. These kids usually do not have that. When we visit them we ask how they are doing, we talk about the origin and meaning of the holiday, we acknowledge them and wish them well. It is amazing how thankful they are for the visit, for the gifts and for the words. Also, the organization appreciates the interest and support that we have for the children. Another group of people that are in need during the Christmas time are the women and children at the shelters. There families are broken and it is hard to provide gifts to each other when you are just trying to survive. They are thankful for having each other and being away in a safe place that are shielding them from the abuse that brought them there. By us bringing donations to Interact for the Christmas Bazaar we know that we are providing gifts for moms to give to their children and for the kids to be able to give a gift to their mom. I started by wanting to provide a handmade hat for every person in the shelter and to my surprise they were 45. I was able to made just 36 in the time frame that was given. After that, I started giving a combination of donations by purchasing some of the gifts and still providing handmade scarves and hats for the kids and for the women. So, that more people can be reached. This service started on 2010 and throughout the years I had received Thank you notes from the organization and from the mothers. One of them said: "Thank you for providing gifts for my girl" From 2009 to 2014, five hundred and fifty (550) people received gifts that brought them hope and a smile to their faces by knowing that there are people who care about them, who show them respect and who make them feel accepted and valued. Around 70 kids per year were visited and received gifts at the Central Children's Home of NC. On January 1st, 2015 Tokens of Care started its operations. Since then until July, 2015: - 92 people have received gifts. - Three visits have been made to the Central Children's Home of North Carolina one for Valentine's Day, one for Easter and one for the 4th of July. - 25 gifts have been received for the Interact's Christmas Bazaar. - Community event: Letter-Writing Circle to support sexual assault survivors. - The women staying at the FVRC's shelter were honored in May. - Three visits has been made to the Central Children's Home of North Carolina one for Valentine's Day, one for Easter and one for the 4th of July. - 25 gifts have been received for the Interact's Christmas Bazaar. - Community event: Letter-Writing Circle to support sexual assault survivors. - The women staying at the FVRC's shelter were honored in May.