The Orange County Share Your Holiday and Toy Chest programs supported more than 2,500 children and families this past Christmas.

Through the Share Your Holiday program, the Orange County Department of Social Services paired 313 community sponsors with children or families and provided gifts to 514 children and elderly or disabled adults in the county.

In addition, the first annual Orange County Toy Chest, coordinated by DSS in partnership with Toys for Tots, provided low-income parents with two or three toys per child. The toys were donated by community members and area businesses.

The Hillsborough Moose Lodge donated $3,500 to the Toy Chest from proceeds received from the First Annual Bubba and Earl’s Barbeque held last April. The event, coordinated by Harold Wagoner and Jeff Woods, featured a cook-off of 10 teams from the Hillsborough area. They sold more than 1,000 pounds of pork and 700 tickets. Plans are underway for the second-annual event to benefit the 2008 Toy Chest.