C H R I S T I A N A P PA L AC H I A N P R O J E C T
2 0 2 0 Christmas cheer provided for Appalachian family The past two and a half years have been hard for Jennifer and her family. Together, Jennifer and her mother were raising her four nieces and two nephews. But all that changed in July 2018 when Jennifer was involved in a wreck and suffered severe injuries, including broken ankles, toes, heel, leg, and hand. A month later, her mother died. While her injuries kept her in the hospital for three months, Jennifer’s father stepped in to help her raise the six children. For two years after her accident, Jennifer was bed bound at home because of her injuries, but she continued to do what she could to raise her nieces and nephews with her father’s assistance. Recently she has been able to start walking again. In 2020, CAP’s Family Advocacy Program was able to help provide toys and other items for Jennifer’s nieces and nephews through its Christmas services. “We didn’t have a lot of money to spend on Christmas this year,” she said. “I appreciate everything we’ve received. CAP helps so much.” She added when she was younger her mother received Christmas baskets from CAP. Jennifer also received Christmas services for her young sons, who are both now grown. “My experience with CAP has been a positive one. I feel like I’m part of a family with CAP,” Jennifer added. “There are really good people who work and volunteer here.” Because of donors and partners, families in Appalachia receive clothing, school supplies, and other essential items throughout the year through CAP’s Family Advocacy Program.
Thank you all so much for the Christmas gifts and ham. It really helped and will make the girls happy. – Jessica and family Thank you all for everything that CAP does for the ones that are less fortunate around Christmas time. We all thank you very much for all the nice things that were bought for my family. The kids loved it. Merry Christmas and God bless you all. – Mardy, April, Jayden, Megan, and Kendra Thank you all for the wonderful gifts and ham. I greatly appreciate you all. – From our house to yours with love and God’s Blessings on all. Thanks so much for everything you do for us. I thank God for you all and may He bless us all. Thank you for your kindness. We loved the gifts. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the nice gifts. May God richly bless you. – Danny and Louise Thank you for the wonderful Christmas gifts. They are greatly appreciated. God bless you for all you do for these communities and the people! – Glenn and Sonia I really appreciated the items I received, things I will use. Thank you and God bless. – Carolyn Thank you so, so much to all who helped. You made a world of difference for my kids. God bless you all. – Sara and family.
From our house to yours, thank you so much for caring. May God bless you all. We want to thank everyone for helping make this an amazing Christmas. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. – James, Jaimee, Jesse, and Jasmine I wanted to say thank you for all the kindness and all of the gifts for my kids. It helped us out a lot. God bless. Wow, I loved the gifts. Thank you so much. – Delores I want to thank you so much for the gifts you gave me. Every bit of it will be helpful to me. All of the CAP people have been so good to me and have helped me many times. I am 84 years old. I really appreciate all of your help. God bless you. – Bonnie To all who made my Christmas happier: I am thankful, grateful, and hopeful. I love you all for being like Christ by giving help to those like me who don’t have a lot of money, but I do have love for all and thank you for being part of my Christmas. – Judy Thank you for everything you do for me. It would not be Christmas without you all. God bless you. – Love, Betty Thank you for all of the items you gave me for Christmas. The guardian angel necklace reminds me of my husband and I am wearing it to remember him by. He is my guardian angel. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. God bless you. – Dorothy
Donors and Sponsors make Christmas special The staff and volunteers of Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Family Advocacy Program spend the entire year preparing for the annual Christmas distribution event to bring holiday cheer to families in Appalachia. In 2020, thanks to you, the program served more than 300 families. “Throughout the year, staff collect toys, clothing, make-up, and other suitable items to be used as Christmas gifts from donations received by CAP’s Operation Sharing program,” said Joshua Ratliff, a coordinator for CAP’s Family Advocacy program in Johnson, Martin, and Floyd Counties. The program also mails appeal letters to possible sponsors for families. Between 100-150 families are matched with sponsors each year, and CAP serves around 200 additional families with the donations that are sent and collected throughout the year.
You made Christmas possible for:
717 Children 592 Adults 354 Families
Family Advocacy begins taking applications from families for Christmas gifts in late July. “Starting in September we transform our Family Advocacy building into a Christmas Wonderland,” Ratliff said. “We set out new clothing on tables by size. We also set out donations of toys, movies, make-up, camping equipment, sporting goods, etc. to ensure we have gifts that are age appropriate for our families.” Using the gift requests on the applications, employees and volunteers sort through the donations and box up Christmas gifts for the families, and a ham for Christmas dinner. Although CAP was not able to host its annual Christmas party for participants in 2020 or interact with them face to face because of the pandemic, because of you CAP was still able to deliver Christmas Baskets through a drive-thru distribution event. During the pandemic, families have faced unemployment, financial hardship, and food insecurity. The generosity of sponsors and donors have provided comfort and relief to children, their families, and seniors in Appalachia through services like Christmas distribution.
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Building hope, transforming lives, and sharing Christ's love through service in Appalachia.
