Body, left, picks out his toy while sitting on Santa Claus’ lap at Anchor House in Seymour while Stacy Conrad holds up the toys that were collected by the community through a Toys for Tats drive through her tattoo studio, Youniquely You Tattoo.
Erika Malone | The Tribune
More than $3,000 in toys were dropped off to the Department of Child Services on Friday afternoon due to the efforts of Youniquely You Tattoo’s angel tree. Ten kids were sponsored on the angel tree in Stacy Conrad’s shop. From left are Kyra Klossner, Emily Maus, Lauren Henderson and Stacy Conrad.
Erika Malone | The Tribune
Jaxson Rodriguez picks out a toy on Christmas Eve during his visit with Santa Claus at Anchor House in Seymour.
Erika Malone | The Tribune
Jaxson Rodriguez shares his excitement of his new toy with Santa Claus on Christmas Eve at Anchor House in Seymour.
Erika Malone | The Tribune
The kids at Anchor House and Turning Point received a special surprise Christmas Eve when Santa Claus paid them a visit before his overnight journey across the globe to deliver presents.
Of course, not showing up empty-handed with the help of Stacy Conrad, owner of Youniquely You Tattoo, kids at Turning Point received various treats and snacks to enjoy on Christmas Day thanks to donations from the community.
That’s not all.
For the month of December, Conrad held a Toys for Tats drive, where a person could bring in a $20 toy with a receipt and receive a $50 tattoo. The toy drive was held every Wednesday, where someone could bring in a toy and receive a tattoo that same day.
“By the end of the toy drive, I did 117 tattoos,” Conrad said. “Everyone was really generous to the kids.”
Conrad then took the collection of toys and delivered them with the help of Santa Claus to Anchor House in Seymour and took the remaining toys to The Serenity Closet in Brownstown.
As a few kids made their way into the room to pick out a toy and chat with Santa, one mother was in shock by their generosity.
“This is such a big blessing to my family,” Heather Gay said. “I am a single mom with four kids, and times have been tough lately, so this is wonderful.”
Terri Smith, who has worked with Anchor House for a year, said this is the first time she has seen such a large donation of toys that covers all of the children in the shelter.
“We just really appreciate the community coming together to spread some Christmas joy to these kids during this time,” she said.
Besides a toy drive, Conrad sponsored 10 kids on her angel tree that was set up in her shop during the month of December.
Each child was assigned a $100 tattoo design with their age and gender on the back. Conrad said more than $3,000 was collected from the angel tree, and that went toward gifts for the children.
“Jack Guffey and his employees at Guffey Construction gave us a $1,000 donation toward the angel tree, which was huge,” Conrad said.
On Friday afternoon, Conrad dropped off the gifts to the Department of Child Services in Seymour.
“We really appreciate the support from the community,” said Emily Maus, supervisor at the Department of Child Services. “The kids will have a good Christmas.”
Conrad said this isn’t a one-time event for her, as she plans to make this an annual tradition making sure children in need have something to look forward to during the holiday season.