Empty Stocking Fund Still Searching for Permanent Home
For 85 years, some children in metro Atlanta have received Christmas gifts from the Empty Stocking Fund. But for the past few years, the children’s charity has been without a permanent home.
The organization’s toy distribution center, known as “Santa’s Village,” is located on Metropolitan Parkway in southwest Atlanta. It’s housed in the Old Bishop Brothers auction facility, owned by Cox Media Group.
Manda Hunt, the Empty Stocking Fund’s executive director, says it’s set up like a store, where parents can pick out gifts for their kids.
“Each child who we serve will get two toys, a book, and a pair of socks, so every child will receive four items,” Hunt says, “And for many of the families that we serve the gifts that they receive from the empty stocking fund are the only gifts they’ll get this holiday season.”
The building where the Village is located is for sale. The charity used to be housed in City Hall East, until that building was sold in 2010. Hunt says they’re still in search of a permanent location.
“We have a lot of inventory and we’ll be getting stuff in starting as early as June each year,” she explains, “And, we’re talking about 200, 250,000 items. We need a good bit of space.”
The Empty Stocking Fund serves about 50,000 children each year. So far, they’ve already given away 54,000 toys and 27,000 books and pairs of socks.
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