It’s always a good time to give back to others but there is no better time to give to our neighbors and community than during the holiday season. Every kid, senior and family deserves the opportunity to enjoy the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning with the excitement of a new present underneath the Christmas tree or a warm meal during the holiday season. Unfortunately, this isn’t a reality for hundreds of underserved families every year. With challenges being presented to many families such as disemployment, poverty, homelessness and others, what for others can seem like a “normal” holiday tradition for some this season can be a completely different experience. This is why it is important for us as a community organization to look after our neighbors.
For many years, our branches have decorated their lobbies with an Angel Tree, a Salvation Army initiative that has served millions of children since 1979. Angel Trees are Christmas Trees decorated with “angel tags” that contain the names of a child in the community and their desired Christmas gift. Generous donors can then select and “adopt” an Angel and purchase the gift for that child. After the gifts are returned to the Angel Tree, they are taken to the Salvation Army Christmas Distribution Center for pickup by the Angel families. This is a simple but special way to connect with members of the community who without the help of the donors wouldn’t be able to provide gifts to their children. This year our participating branches were Bryan YMCA, Ragsdale YMCA, Hayes Taylor YMCA, Spears YMCA, Reidsville YMCA and Eden YMCA.
Another way our branches are ensuring more kids have toys this holiday season is through the Toys for Tots program that has a collection box at Stoney Creek YMCA. Through this program members of the community drop new, unwrapped toys in collection boxes. These toys are then distributed to underserved children of the community.
The holiday season is a time of joy and we want to extend that joy to as many kids, families and individuals as we can this year. We want everyone to be able to experience the holiday spirit and excitement of receiving gifts despite their current circumstances. You can also be part of the movement of serving the community by becoming a donor, not only for the holiday season but throughout the year. Through our end-of-year giving, we are using small and large gifts to provide opportunities to community members in Guilford and Rockingham Counties to participate in Y programs and services. We hope that you consider donating to the YMCA of Greensboro.
Published on December 12, 2022