HELPING SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER TO LOCAL KIDS & FAMILIES IN NEED

By Paige Eisemann

Can you imagine a child not having a gift to open for Christmas? All across Montgomery County, children are preparing their wish lists and parents are busy trying to locate all the latest items that their child desires. None of us wants a child to go without a gift during the holidays, but this year in particular means that families might need assistance to make their child’s wishes come true..

Every year, Urban Ministries works diligently to help families who need assistance in providing their children with gifts for a special Christmas. Their traditional Christmas store held at Madison Street United Methodist Church had to be reimagined to provide for members of our community in a way that allowed for increased safety and health protocols, like so many things this year. It is through this need that “Christmas For Kids”, to be held on December 12, 2020 was created.

Deborah Ashcraft is a familiar face for many members of our community. As Grace Assistance Program Manager at Urban Ministries, she has worked tirelessly to implement the Food Distribution program. This ministry has increased in size since it began in March, with the November distribution day seeing 797 food boxes being given to Montgomery County families. Deborah was also heavily involved in the recent “Turkeys for Troops” event, where military families were given turkeys for Thanksgiving completely without cost. When it became apparent that the format used for the Christmas store concept would not work this year, Debbie went to work. She spent hours researching and collaborating with the “Last Minute Toy Store” in Nashville to come up with ideas to transform this community outreach program into a COVID safe event. Debbie says that her motivation is that she cannot bear the thought of any child not having a gift to open on Christmas. It is this motivation that drives her and countless volunteers who have worked to make this event a reality.

The first hurdle that had to be crossed was to figure out and secure a location that would be able to handle the number of people needed to pull off such an event. Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett graciously offered the use of the Wilma Rudolph event center, which will allow families to pick up the gifts in a completely contactless manner. The second hurdle was to determine how families would choose gifts, since the store concept used in the past could not be used. This is where CMCSS school counselors and Montgomery County social service agencies stepped in. Through their existing relationships with families, wishlists for each child who will be receiving gifts this year have been distributed. These professionals are in the unique position of being able to reach out to the families that they know can benefit from this program, to ensure that the children can receive the gifts that they would like. The third hurdle was the procurement of the actual gifts. In the past, the congregation of Madison Street United Methodist Church has provided the lion’s share of gifts for this program. Last year, church families were assigned specific age groups for gifts to bring in based on the beginning letter of their last name. This year, church families participated in a special offering to provide for the purchase of the items on the wish lists.

The Outreach ministries of MSUMC also set aside funds for this purpose. Urban Ministries also accepted some toys and gift items, as well as monetary donations, from various businesses and local community groups to be applied to the purchase of gifts. It is with these monetary donations that Debbie Ashcraft and a team of volunteers began shopping for the items on children’s wish lists, collected by school counselors and social service agencies. Beginning on November 30, teams of volunteers have been shopping for the gifts listed on the wishlists. This process has taken several days, and many hours.

Once the gifts have been purchased, an army of volunteers will begin sorting and packaging the gifts. Each family will receive a bag with their child’s gifts, gift wrap, tape and name tags. Families will receive a voucher from their school counselor or social service agent with a specific time and date for their gift pick up. Volunteers will have each bag prepared and waiting to be distributed to families in the same manner that food distribution takes place. Families will drive into the designated areas at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center, open their trunk or hatch, and volunteers will place their bags into the vehicle. Completely contact free, safe and healthy! Many volunteers are needed for all of this to take place. Austin Peay State University football players have requested to be on hand to help with the distribution, pending university approval. Dozens of volunteers who have helped with the Food Distribution program will also be on hand to sort and distribute the gift bags.

Urban Ministries expects to provide gifts for 150-200 families at the December 12 event. None of it will be possible without donations, time and effort from volunteers. No matter how many things change this holiday season, the motivation to create happy Christmas memories for children in our community is strong. Dozens of people are working tirelessly to make this special event take place. If you would like to make a donation for the purchase of gifts for children in Montgomery County you may send those to Urban Ministries 217 South 3rd Street Clarksville, TN 37040. Please note on your donation that you would like for the funds to be used for Christmas for Kids. If you are interested in volunteering, call 931-648-9090 or connect with Urban Ministries via their Facebook page. In this season of giving, “Christmas For Kids” is working to give to the youngest members of our community.

No one has ever become poor by giving- Anne Frank