CHESAPEAKE — The Community Mission Outreach (CMO) at the Chesapeake Community Center has been collecting food and toys for less fortunate families of eastern Lawrence County for Christmas.

“This year we are making 650 baskets for families,” Donald Moore, Chairman of Trustees for the CMO, said. “We have been collecting food and toys for this for about three weeks.”

The CMO is sponsored and operated by 16 churches that all donated food or money to buy food for the baskets. Fairland and Chesapeake high schools also had food drives to donate to the CMO along with individual donations.

“It’s nice to be able to help the less fortunate families,” Moore said.

The baskets will be put together on Monday and given away on Tuesday.

“All of the families that come in will get either a turkey or a ham to go with the basket of food,” Moore said. “The parents of families with children will also get to go into the room of toys and pick some out for them. This year, between 450 and 500 children will get toys.”

This is the 29th year the CMO has been making Christmas baskets.

“I like being able to help people out by being able to give them a better meal at Christmastime,” Moore said. “Seeing the children get toys also makes me very happy.”