November 28, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, each December, a small volunteer-run “store” opens for families who could use extra help during the holidays. Parents walk through the space like any other shop, choosing toys that fit their kids without paying a cent. Jonathan Mattox, co-chairman of The Christmas Store in Oxford, Mississippi, reflects on how this forty-plus-year tradition grew into one of the community’s most reliable holiday efforts.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
In nineteen seventy five, the Christmas Store was founded and
has been giving out presents to those in need ever since.
Jonathan Mannox of the Oxford Ole Miss Rotary Club is
co chairman of the Christmas Store and he's here to
share this beautiful annual event about an hour south of Memphis.
(00:32):
Here's Jonathan.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Is a community based volunteer organization that gives toys children
in our community who otherwise might not have anything for Christmas.
In two thousand and seven, when the Rotary Club of
Oxford Old Miss was forming and looking for a signature project,
the Christmas Store seemed like a good place for us
to plug in and volunteer. I joined the Rotary Club
(00:59):
because I wanted to be able to make a difference,
and so when.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
This project was brought to the club's.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Attention, everyone really thought this was a great chance for
us to really give back to those in our community.
Little do we know at the time that we would
be taking over the Christmas Store and for the past
fourteen years, we have been the stewards of this annual
event for years before our involvement in the Christmas Store,
people would shop throughout the year and just a massive,
(01:27):
big pile of toys, and it truly was a store,
and families were invited to come in and.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Select a couple of toys for each of their children.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
When we became involved in a store, it became a
period that there was always that certain toy that they
could never have enough of. It would be the one
that they would set out and everyone would want to
grab that one first and anyone who came later maybe
didn't have the opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Get that thing for that year.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we said, why not just buy the toys that
the people want in the first.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Place, and that led to a whole new wave of
the Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
We put out an application around the beginning of October
where we actually provide a wish list and ask families
to choose a couple of gifts from that list, and
we go out and actually purchase the things that are
on their list, so they know they really are getting
the things that their children want. So when we started
to kind of think through how we would go about
(02:24):
purchasing specific gifts for specific children. In some years when
we have as many as eight hundred children on the list.
It was a pretty dawning task. So although the Rotary
Club is the stewards of the event, it really is
the community who makes it happen. We have in most
years seventy five to one hundred volunteers who participate throughout
the entire planning season, shopping, helping families navigate through our event,
(02:49):
wrap presence, hand out books, and other ways.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
To make that day special.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's quite a huge undertaking and a huge volume of
toys to manage. Rations begin in September and so it
is amazing how many people.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Are a part of making this happen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I see parents who bring their children out shopping and
navigating through the aisle and trying to find a certain thing,
and children really getting involved in trying to pick out
what they think would be the best choice between the
dolls or the puzzles or whatever, and really actively engaging
and wanting to make sure that somebody else gets a
great gift.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is fun to be able to experience.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I have a thirteen year old son and we've been
doing this for fourteen years, so he's never known Christmas
where his.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Dad wasn't doing the Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
In those months leading up to that and it really
is an opportunity to families work together, for parents to
bring their children along and really show them the importance
of helping others and the importance of giving that the
Christmas season isn't always about what you want to put
on your Christmas soishal list, but how you can.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Help other people. The energy on our distribution day is
so high.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
We typically have music playing in the background and there's
lots of laughing and carrying on. Volunteers are all lined
up and often wearing elf hats and other costumes and
things like that sort of make the day a lot
of fun. And the families that come through really bring
a lot of energy with them. There's such appreciation and
such gratitude. It really does just amp up the feeling
(04:25):
that everyone has. There is something about the Christmas season
that brings out that true want to help other people,
and it's amazing how many people are willing to give
their time. There are people who reach out to us
early in the fall and say, when is it time
to sign up for the Christmas Store because I want
to be involved with that project again this year. Those
(04:47):
people come back to us every year and we see
that list of our faithful participants grow and grow.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Because this event has.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Been around for so long, I think it really does
have a special place in the community. I meet people
all the time who say, when I was younger, you know,
my grandmother was part of the Christmas Store and it
was one of her favorite things to do every year.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And I am so excited that now I'm able to
be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
We've even had people who have been the participants in
the Christmas Store before ask how they can become a
volunteer in the next year because they want to pay
it forward and help other.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Families the same way.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
One year, kind of midway through the store, a gentleman
walks through the door and he says to the people
who are at the front counter, who's in charge here?
So I saw what was going on. I scurried over
the table and you know, and I said, that's me.
How can I help you? He said, well, I need
to talk to you when this is over. So I
hooked him up with the volunteers who helped him find
(05:47):
the toys that had been selected for his family and
the other things that were available and waited for him
at the end. And when we got to the end,
he pulled me out into the hallway, and I was
really expecting that he was about to just me some
kind of complaint about the process or about how he
had been treated, and instead he teared up and said
that he didn't know what he was going to do,
(06:09):
and how important this was for him and how meaningful
it was going to be to his children.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
For so many people who come.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Through the line and gather the toys, in some ways,
you know, can be a very humbling experience, but for
most of them there is such gratitude and such well wishing.
For us, it's such a mutual experience of gratitude and
appreciation and really.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Love just being a part of a community together. I
think a lot of people are.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Looking for a way that they can do something meaningful
and they want to help someone else, but they don't
always know how to do it, and so being able
to coordinate this program every year and give that opportunity
is for me one of the most rewarding parts about it,
because there's no better way to start your Christmas season
than helping someone else.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And a great job on the storytelling in production by
Madison and a special thanks to Jonathan Maddox of the
Oxford Ole, Miss Rotary Club. This is just another example
of the generosity of the people of this great country,
and that's what we do here on the show. America
is the star of the show in this Christmas season,
celebrating the generosity of the American people here on our
(07:20):
American Story. Lee Habib here, and I'm inviting you to
help our American Stories celebrate this country's two hundred and
fiftieth birthday coming soon. If you want to help inspire
countless others to love America like we do, and want
to help us bring the inspiring and important stories told
(07:43):
here about a good and beautiful country, please consider making
a tax deductible donation to our American Stories. Go to
Ouramerican Stories dot com and click the donate button. Any
amount helps. Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
In nineteen seventy five, the Christmas Store was founded and
has been giving out presents to those in need ever since.
Jonathan Mannox of the Oxford Ole Miss Rotary Club is
co chairman of the Christmas Store and he's here to
share this beautiful annual event about an hour south of Memphis.
(00:32):
Here's Jonathan.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
The Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Is a community based volunteer organization that gives toys children
in our community who otherwise might not have anything for Christmas.
In two thousand and seven, when the Rotary Club of
Oxford Old Miss was forming and looking for a signature project,
the Christmas Store seemed like a good place for us
to plug in and volunteer. I joined the Rotary Club
(00:59):
because I wanted to be able to make a difference,
and so when.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
This project was brought to the club's.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Attention, everyone really thought this was a great chance for
us to really give back to those in our community.
Little do we know at the time that we would
be taking over the Christmas Store and for the past
fourteen years, we have been the stewards of this annual
event for years before our involvement in the Christmas Store,
people would shop throughout the year and just a massive,
(01:27):
big pile of toys, and it truly was a store,
and families were invited to come in and.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Select a couple of toys for each of their children.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
When we became involved in a store, it became a
period that there was always that certain toy that they
could never have enough of. It would be the one
that they would set out and everyone would want to
grab that one first and anyone who came later maybe
didn't have the opportunity to.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Get that thing for that year.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
So we said, why not just buy the toys that
the people want in the first.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Place, and that led to a whole new wave of
the Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
We put out an application around the beginning of October
where we actually provide a wish list and ask families
to choose a couple of gifts from that list, and
we go out and actually purchase the things that are
on their list, so they know they really are getting
the things that their children want. So when we started
to kind of think through how we would go about
(02:24):
purchasing specific gifts for specific children. In some years when
we have as many as eight hundred children on the list.
It was a pretty dawning task. So although the Rotary
Club is the stewards of the event, it really is
the community who makes it happen. We have in most
years seventy five to one hundred volunteers who participate throughout
the entire planning season, shopping, helping families navigate through our event,
(02:49):
wrap presence, hand out books, and other ways.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
To make that day special.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's quite a huge undertaking and a huge volume of
toys to manage. Rations begin in September and so it
is amazing how many people.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Are a part of making this happen.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I see parents who bring their children out shopping and
navigating through the aisle and trying to find a certain thing,
and children really getting involved in trying to pick out
what they think would be the best choice between the
dolls or the puzzles or whatever, and really actively engaging
and wanting to make sure that somebody else gets a
great gift.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Is fun to be able to experience.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
I have a thirteen year old son and we've been
doing this for fourteen years, so he's never known Christmas
where his.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Dad wasn't doing the Christmas Store.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
In those months leading up to that and it really
is an opportunity to families work together, for parents to
bring their children along and really show them the importance
of helping others and the importance of giving that the
Christmas season isn't always about what you want to put
on your Christmas soishal list, but how you can.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Help other people. The energy on our distribution day is
so high.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
We typically have music playing in the background and there's
lots of laughing and carrying on. Volunteers are all lined
up and often wearing elf hats and other costumes and
things like that sort of make the day a lot
of fun. And the families that come through really bring
a lot of energy with them. There's such appreciation and
such gratitude. It really does just amp up the feeling
(04:25):
that everyone has. There is something about the Christmas season
that brings out that true want to help other people,
and it's amazing how many people are willing to give
their time. There are people who reach out to us
early in the fall and say, when is it time
to sign up for the Christmas Store because I want
to be involved with that project again this year. Those
(04:47):
people come back to us every year and we see
that list of our faithful participants grow and grow.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Because this event has.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Been around for so long, I think it really does
have a special place in the community. I meet people
all the time who say, when I was younger, you know,
my grandmother was part of the Christmas Store and it
was one of her favorite things to do every year.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And I am so excited that now I'm able to
be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
We've even had people who have been the participants in
the Christmas Store before ask how they can become a
volunteer in the next year because they want to pay
it forward and help other.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Families the same way.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
One year, kind of midway through the store, a gentleman
walks through the door and he says to the people
who are at the front counter, who's in charge here?
So I saw what was going on. I scurried over
the table and you know, and I said, that's me.
How can I help you? He said, well, I need
to talk to you when this is over. So I
hooked him up with the volunteers who helped him find
(05:47):
the toys that had been selected for his family and
the other things that were available and waited for him
at the end. And when we got to the end,
he pulled me out into the hallway, and I was
really expecting that he was about to just me some
kind of complaint about the process or about how he
had been treated, and instead he teared up and said
that he didn't know what he was going to do,
(06:09):
and how important this was for him and how meaningful
it was going to be to his children.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
For so many people who come.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Through the line and gather the toys, in some ways,
you know, can be a very humbling experience, but for
most of them there is such gratitude and such well wishing.
For us, it's such a mutual experience of gratitude and
appreciation and really.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Love just being a part of a community together. I
think a lot of people are.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Looking for a way that they can do something meaningful
and they want to help someone else, but they don't
always know how to do it, and so being able
to coordinate this program every year and give that opportunity
is for me one of the most rewarding parts about it,
because there's no better way to start your Christmas season
than helping someone else.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
And a great job on the storytelling in production by
Madison and a special thanks to Jonathan Maddox of the
Oxford Ole, Miss Rotary Club. This is just another example
of the generosity of the people of this great country,
and that's what we do here on the show. America
is the star of the show in this Christmas season,
celebrating the generosity of the American people here on our
(07:20):
American Story. Lee Habib here, and I'm inviting you to
help our American Stories celebrate this country's two hundred and
fiftieth birthday coming soon. If you want to help inspire
countless others to love America like we do, and want
to help us bring the inspiring and important stories told
(07:43):
here about a good and beautiful country, please consider making
a tax deductible donation to our American Stories. Go to
Ouramerican Stories dot com and click the donate button. Any
amount helps. Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.