Judge: We Have Toys For All Needy Kids

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - Several charities that offer Christmas toys to needy children wanted the public to know all the money they raise goes directly to help those children. Their concern came in the wake of a FOX 5 I-Team investigation that showed police charities in DeKalb and Gwinnett spent only a fraction of the money they collected in the name of underprivileged children.

The DeKalb and Gwinnett Fraternal Orders of Police in one year raised a combined $500,000, all with the promise of helping less fortunate children. Only about $64,000 went to where donors were told, to a few hundred needy kids at Christmas and for back to school supplies.

Douglas County Superior Court judge Beau McClain came up with a bold idea.

"Let's serve all the needy children in this community," he proclaimed.

All of them. Toys for roughly 17,000 Douglas County children. With only about $60,000 in cash donations.

"We haven't done a whole lot of fundraising," remarked judge McClain. "The money has just shown up."

If only it could work that well for the DeKalb and Gwinnett County Fraternal Order of Police. The FOX 5 I-Team already reported how those two charities hired paid phone solicitors to raise money year round in the name of helping needy children. But only a fraction went to fund the Shop with a Cop Christmas program. Only a few hundred underprivileged children in DeKalb and Gwinnett ever got help. Most of the money stayed with those paid phone solicitors and the charity itself.

Both charities promised to try harder to get more money to the children.

But other Georgia police charities stressed they fund their Christmas Shop with a Cop programs through donations from the officers themselves, or local businesses that stepped forward on their own. That included Roswell police, Covington police and Athens-Clarke County police. Every program funded they say without using paid solicitors.

Same with Judge McClain's Operation Christmas.

"That will never happen in Douglas County," he vowed when asked about using paid solicitors. Instead, Douglas County decided this Christmas to go big... or go home.

First, how do you find every needy child in Douglas County? Judge McClain started by asking the school system to identify every student who's on free or reduced lunch. Because that information is private, organizers asked the school system to give those students a golden ticket and bring it to a special distribution spot this weekend, a ticket redeemable for at least one Christmas present.

Second, how to get the toys with little money on hand to buy them?

Turns out, almost all those presents were donated. They began arriving this summer, when Judge McClain received several pallets of slightly damaged toys from a friend.

But it was the only packaging that was damaged. The toys themselves were fine. And they were top-of-the-line toys like Star Wars action figures and Elmo. Judge McClain thought the box would make no difference to a happy kid.

"You know Christmas morning a child is going to tear that box apart to get to that toy and start playing with it." Judge McClain pointed out.

Toys for Tots decided to make Operation Christmas the sole distributor in Douglas County. Operation Christmas wound up with plenty of toys, even more for the younger children.

Judge McClain's last worry: will kids remembers to bring their ticket?

"A lot of the younger kids are going to get the biggest Christmas they've ever had," he predicted. "Kids from six down to infant are going to be amazed by what they wake up and see under the Christmas Tree on December 25. God showed up with incredible abundance and we have more than enough for everyone."