History of Dallas Songwriters Toy Drive

 June 1, 2019

Columbia Lodge Presents Blue Christmas In July


Saturday, July 27th Columbia Lodge will get a very special visit, all the way from the North Pole! Santa and Mrs. Claus are coming to Texas during the hottest part of the summer to share some Christmas cheer with the Dallas Songwriters Association. DSA is working in conjunction with The Larry Tutson Jr. Toy Drive, founded by local blues man Gregg A. Smith, to gather up good things to give to the children of low-income families in South Dallas at Christmastime. Our primary focus this season is raising funds and collecting helmets and locks for bicycles that will be given in December, through RL’s Blues Palace. This will be a fun way to get a jump-start on the heavy lifting that takes place later in the year. The party gets started at 7:00 pm and we’ll keep it going until 11:00 pm. Gregg A. Smith’s Blues Revue Band will lay down the groove so be sure to wear your dancing shoes. Supper will be pot-luck, with the meat provided by Columbia Lodge. Bring your favorite salads, sides, and other delicious dishes to share. Minimum suggested donation is $10 with all of the proceeds benefiting this yuletide focus for the South Dallas Youth Community. You can shop for helmets and locks for the kids’ bicycles yourself, or just bring your donations, and we’ll do the rest. We will have fun and festivities for all so come on down! Yule be glad you did.


History


For the past few years DSA has partnered with Columbia Lodge to bring toys at Christmas time to underprivileged kids in South Dallas. Christmas in July has enabled us to kick off the Toy drive for the season.


In years past, DSA has donated to Toys For Tots and for many years WFAA's Santas Helpers. Former DSA Director Vern Dailey, RIP, had worked with WFAA's Mr Peppermint for many years. Vern was a staple for many years at the station and got DSA involved with Troy Duncan's Santa's Helpers Toy Drive. Each tear, DSA would ask for donations of toys to be brought to our Christmas party. We fill up our trunks and drive them down to Channel 8 during the toy drive. After Vern passed away, we continued the effort with Santa's Helpers. 


It's been a tradition for DSA to be involved in a toy drive and only natural that we would partner with Sons of Hermann Columbia Lodge to reach out to the South Dallas Community through Gregg Smith, a DJ at KNON, and in conjunction with the Larry Tutson Jr. Toy Drive.

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