Driven to brighten holiday

LAURINBURG — Toys for Tots hopes to step up its efforts with a toy drive today at the Dollar General on Aberdeen Road.

“We have received a lot of support from the community, however we need more donations,” said Vicki Jackson, Toys for Tots coordinator for Scotland and Robeson County.

Today’s toy drive will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The effort, which began in November, gives the community the opportunity to drop off toys for families that are unable to afford them. It will also give families in need the chance to sign up to receive toys for their children this Christmas.

“This is the first time that we’ve had Toys for Tots in Scotland County and we want to let the public know that Toys for Tots is in our community,” Jackson said.

She just started representing the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation this year, but she has been serving the community in various ways for much longer.

Jackson and her husband, Apostle Lawrence Jackson III, serve many families in Scotland County at the family-owned business — Jackson Funeral Home in Laurinburg.

The couple owns two funeral homes — Jackson’s Sons and Daughters Funeral Home in Lumberton and JSD/Kinlaw Funeral Home in Elizabethtown.

Vicki Jackson is a graduate of Spartanburg High in Spartanburg, S.C. where she was born and raised. She attended Newberry Lutheran College where she studied sociology and psychology. She met her husband and moved to Laurinburg where they had seven children who will help in the family funeral home business.

Her career in funeral services industry began in 1993 in Spartanburg at J.W. Woodard Funeral Home, where she served as a secretary before being promoted to office manager.

Jackson said she has a love and compassion for people, which is one of the reasons that she is helping coordinate the local Toys for Tots program.

“We are looking forward to meeting the children and hearing all of their thoughts and ideas about Christmas, because Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year anyway,” she said. “We love to see children with big smiles on their faces and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

For information on Toys for Tots, visit www.laurinburg-nc.toysfortots.org

Toy drop off locations:

T-Mobile

The Laurinburg Exchange

Any Dollar General

Arron’s Rental

Doug’s Tire Shop

Bojangles

Laundry Express

Jackson Funeral Home

Vicki Jackson, center, and her Toys for Tots team worked to raise awareness for the program during the annual Christmas on Main Street event.

https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_IMG_9868.jpgVicki Jackson, center, and her Toys for Tots team worked to raise awareness for the program during the annual Christmas on Main Street event. Abby Hackmann | The Laurinburg Exchange

Contributed photo: Vicki and Apostle Lawrence Jackson III sit with their seven children who help run the family owned funeral home business.

https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Jackson-family.jpgContributed photo: Vicki and Apostle Lawrence Jackson III sit with their seven children who help run the family owned funeral home business. Abby Hackmann | The Laurinburg Exchange

https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_santas-helper_cmyk.jpgAbby Hackmann | The Laurinburg Exchange