Christmas Basket program a great success

Our community can be proud of the outpouring of generosity and support shared with others through this years’ Christmas Basket project. Many thanks go to all of the wonderful volunteers who gave countless hours of their time and talents to make this year’s event a success.

Thank you to the First Baptist Church and the Community Youth Center for the use of their facilities. Being able to use these wonderful locations made it more convenient for individuals and groups to drop off donations early and then to organize and prepare those donations for distribution.

Thank you to Fugate Ford for again sponsoring the Toys for Tots program and collecting toys for the children. So many churches, groups and individuals donated toys that very little needed to be purchased this year to fill in age gaps.

Thank you to DECA, FFA, and other groups, churches, and individuals who “adopted” families and provided gifts.  Many delightful  things were donated to make Christmas a very happy holiday.  And of course many children had the fun of shopping with a Lion and picking out their own gift which was a big hit!

Thank you to volunteers who sorted and bagged toys on Monday and those who wrapped toys on Wednesday and those who sorted food at the Youth Center and those who boxed food on Friday. Some of you were “first-timers” and we hope you will plan to help again next year.        Thank you to the 5th/6th grade students from the El Dorado Christian School who bagged candy and fruit to add to the baskets and the Christian High School students who helped move food and gifts from the Youth Center to the First Baptist Church on Thursday. Thank you to all of the drivers and runners who delivered the baskets to elderly and shut ins on Saturday morning and to those volunteers who “manned” the stations on distribution day to fill the carts with the perishable food items. Thank you to the FFA students who helped carry baskets and toys out to waiting cars at the church.

With the support of the community, the committee was able to provide food baskets and/or gifts to aprox. 625 people including  nearly 215 children. Whether your donation was time, food or gifts, making phone calls, filling baskets, wrapping gifts, delivering baskets, providing snacks for workers, wheeling baskets to cars, directing traffic at the church  or cash, each gift was sincerely appreciated.  Thank you so much for your generous support of this annual event.