Toys for Tots will collect toys at the Rison in the Fall community celebration on Oct. 10, program coordinator Matthew Yarnell wrote in a column for the Pine Bluff Commercial.
Yarnell coordinates Toys for Tots in Cleveland, Dallas, Jefferson and Lincoln counties. The season starts with the Toys in the Bluff drive on Saturday, Oct. 3, at CJ’s Auto Body in Pine Bluff. Yarnell said the program has also asked Walmart for collection days and expects an answer soon.
Registration and Angel Tree
Yarnell said the program will post registration details in the coming weeks for Christmas in the Bluff and for the Angel Tree programs in Jefferson and Lincoln counties.
In Lincoln County, Toys for Tots has already given more than 400 toys to C&L Electric, which runs the Angel Tree there for the 2026 Christmas season. The program also supplied collection boxes and banners for a softball fundraiser tournament in Star City on Sept. 26.
Simmons Bank gave $2,500 to the 2026 campaign in early September, Yarnell wrote.
Quilts of Valor at American Legion Post 83
Yarnell and his daughter, Kymberly, attended a Quilts of Valor presentation at American Legion Post 83 in Rison on Sept. 26. Eight local veterans received quilts.
Greg Herron, the post’s vice commander and the Cleveland County Veterans Service Officer, played a recording of Dolly Parton singing the National Anthem, Yarnell wrote. Two of the veterans honored are officers in the newly reformed Legion post, and others are considering joining. The Cleveland County Veterans Association staged the military displays, and the Rison Why Knots Homemakers Club provided refreshments.
Requests filled so far in 2026
Yarnell listed completed 2026 requests that include 200 books and 2,200 stocking stuffers for the Rison American Legion, 300 toys for the Monticello American Legion, 400 books for the Star City library and 300 books for the Fordyce Library.
