This Christmas season, local aid organizations are working together to make sure families have what they need.

For the 40th year, the Brown County Children’s Benefit Auction will raise money to purchase $50 clothing vouchers for children in need. The auction will happen Dec. 1 at Out of the Ordinary restaurant.

Auction items are donated by local artists, businesses, craftsmen and merchants. Everyone is welcome to come bid, starting at 6 p.m.

This year, the Brown County Children’s Benefit Auction committee is partnering with the Nashville Police Department and The Salvation Army to provide food and toys to families, said Tonya Harden, auction spokesperson and committee member.

Instead of doing Shop with a Cop this year, the NPD will hand out $100 food vouchers to the families of the children who receive clothing vouchers.

Last year’s Shop with a Cop event was canceled due to inclement weather, so the police department then decided to use the money to buy gift cards for the children.

Harden worked as the crisis intervention advocate at the police department before leaving to work for Adult Protective Services this year.

“A lot of the families, when I would give them the gift cards to buy clothes, they would say, ‘Well, our kids don’t need a whole lot of clothes. Can we use it to buy toys or can we use it to buy food?’ The whole food thing came through our office as more of a need,” Harden said.

“The other problem is we could only take so many kids shopping, so we couldn’t serve the whole community if we took each child selected with us and spent $150 on clothing,” she said.

The auction committee also is working with The Salvation Army and the Brown County Chamber of Commerce to ensure every child receives a toy, along with the clothing and food vouchers.

The new, unwrapped toys will be collected Dec. 2 along the route of the Brown County Chamber of Commerce Holiday Light Parade.

Last year, more than $14,000 was raised to help buy gift cards for children. Auction sales brought in $11,233, and an additional $3,200 in cash donations was collected during the event.

Donations for the auction can be dropped off at Out of the Ordinary or PNC Bank.

Monetary donations for the NPD food voucher program can be dropped off at the department during business hours or at Town Hall on Commercial Street.

“Our goal was that every child and family get what they need this year for Christmas,” Harden said.

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The deadline to get children’s names on a list to receive Christmas aid is Friday, Dec. 1.

Sign-ups can be done from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Nashville Police Department on Hawthorne Drive, except during lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Sign-ups also can be done at any Brown County school.

Children on the list will receive a toy and $100 voucher that can be used for clothing or food at Walmart on the west side of Columbus.

All clothing bought with the vouchers must be checked out at the service desk.

Food vouchers are good for all food except for alcoholic beverages. Families will be asked to check out at a certain register in order to use their vouchers to buy food.

“We have coordinated with Walmart this year to ensure the money that was donated is spent on the right things,” said committee member Tonya Harden.

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Donations for the Brown County Children’s Benefit Auction can be dropped off at Out of The Ordinary or at PNC Bank. Cash donations can be made at any bank in Nashville.

To have items picked up, or with questions, call 812-320-2601.

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