Document text
A time for giving Photo by Bob Pennell North Medford High School senior Lyndsay Barthel, left, and North junior Lisa-Ebony Amador, wrap presents at the Children's Advocacy Center in Medford. The center provides Christmas gifts for abused children. Barbie clothes helped, but kids need more toys EDITOR'S NOTE : "Light One Candle" is an annual Mail Tribune series of stories that focus on a person, family or agency with a particular need during the holiday season. For information, call 776-4465. By JONEL ALECCIA A political brouhaha over Barbie clothes is old news at the Children's Advocacy Center in Medford, where the focus is now on finding toys of all kinds to fulfill the Christmas wishes of abused kids. "We need toys for boys," said Christina Hill, intake coordinator at the Medford center that provides treatment for sexually abused children. Basketballs, fishing poles and building sets are among most-needed gifts at the center, which kicks off the Mail Tribune's annual "Light One Candle" holiday giving series. The center was last in the news in October, when organizers agreed to accept and distribute dozens of handmade Barbie clothes made by a Medford great-grandmother and rejected by another agency. The doll clothes are long gone, said Hill, distributed to sexually abused children who were happy to have them. "I don't know if the children were aware of the stories," Hill said. "They just wanted a Barbie." Three hundred outfits handmade by Armella Wharton, 77, of Medford, were turned down by Dunn House, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence. Shelter organizers objected to the female image and consumerist values they said are embodied by the doll. The incident sparked controversy nationwide. But Barbie isn't the only popular toy at the center, which last year provided treatment and counseling for nearly 720 sexually abused children ages 2 to 18. Every year, staff members struggle to find gifts of all kinds for children traumatized by sexual abuse. "Often when the abuser is removed from the family, they face a financial bind," Hill said. "We try to help with that." Although the center welcomes all donations, they say some gifts are easier to obtain than others. "Toys for younger girls, we get a lot," Hill said with a sigh. "But toys for boys ages 8 and up, we need. Basketballs, footballs, something they could use outside. Flashlights, fishing poles." Toys donated to the center should be new, Hill said. "The stigma attached to sexual abuse makes the kids believe that they are not worth anything new," she said. Donations of used toys or clothing are accepted, but they are distributed through a cooperative arrangement with other social service agencies, Hill said. (Toys can be delivered to the Children's Advocacy Center at 816 W. 10th St., Medford. For information, call 734-5437.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA