ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Volunteers will begin gift wrapping for the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center's annual Holiday Gift Drive starting Monday, Dec. 6.
As of Monday, 75 people have volunteered to gift wrap, but the community center is hoping to reach at least 100 volunteers.
The drive aims to give gifts to children in the community between the ages of 3 and 12. This year, 515 children have registered to receive a gift.
"We love this time of year, typically, because it's an opportunity for our community to connect and be together," Executive Director Jerry Jones said. "And that's really important because being isolated during this season is easy and it is traumatic. COVID has exacerbated that."
Gift wrapping will go Monday through Friday. Volunteers have the option to participate one day or all five.
In years past, the gift drivee included a Christmas party in the community center. Due to COVID-19, this is the second year in a row the party has been canceled and parents need to pick up the gift outside the center.
The center currently only has about 50% of the gifts needed in order to give every registered child a gift.
To learn how to donate or volunteer for the holiday gift drive, visit the MLK Center's website here.