Christmas Families

O What a Gift!

Christian Community Presbyterian Church and the Bowie area joined forces to provide food and gifts for the holidays for 37 families--170 people total. Dee McCarty, pastoral assistant at CCPC, said " the true meaning of Christmas is really exemplified by your efforts." Each family received a set of clothing for each child, school supplies for next year, and Christmas gifts as well as groceries for a Christmas meal and for the net week or so. CCPC provided over 400 presents and about 350 bags of food. CCPC had counselors at local schools identify families who were in need this year. CCPC received many thank you letters from the various families, such as this one: "I'm sending a warm note of thanks to say people like you help make the world brighter by the nice things you do". (As appeared in the Bowie Blade.)

CCPC members sign up to give children gifts for Christmas.

A child's name, age, and clothing size was written on an paper angel. Sunday School children cutout and colored the paper drummer boys.

After a child's name was selected, the angel was hung on the Christmas tree.

The unwrapped gifts of clothing with a toy for each child was brought to the church on 19 December. Church volunteers check each gift for appropriate size before wrapping each present.

Bags of groceries for each family fill a table.

THANK YOU, CCPC!

The Christmas Families Project is of such magnitude that it requires the commitment and effort of many people. Members and friends of CCPC have again this Christmas responded with a generous outpouring of money, gifts, food, and time.

This year thirty-seven families received enough groceries to last about a week, and one hundred and thirty-five children received clothing, toys, and "fun"gifts. Many of the families were particularly needy. One family had been burned out, several families were homeless, and several families consisted of grandchildren and grandmothers. One homeless mother was overwhelmed by the generosity of CCPC.

Thank you to everyone who in any way contributed to the success of the project. A special thanks goes to Julia Leaman who created the little drummer boys and to the children who creatively colored them. Thanks to Barbara Stone who organized the turkey donations and made lots of phone calls to the families. Thanks to Frances Rocha who made afghans for the grandmothers, baby blankets for the infants, and notepad kits for the parents. Thanks also to Paul and Jo Bolig for assembling sixty-nine school supply kits. Thanks to Nancy Honeyford for making sure all the gifts were wrapped. Heartfelt thanks go to those who donated money, those who provided school supplies, those who donated food for families, those who provided gifts for the children, those who shopped for food, those who sorted food and gifts, those who wrapped gifts, those who donated turkeys, bears, and Christmas ornaments and those who helped with distribution and delivery. A special thanks to the youth of CCPC and to Jim and Michelle Simpson, who "adopted" small families and provided gifts and food for them.

We are especially grateful for groups outside of CCPC that helped provide for the Christmas Families. Thanks to Dr. Holding, whose patients donated lovely new toys and food to the Community Pantry. Limbach Company in Lanham provided food and gifts for a family of ten. The Bowie-Crofton Soroptomists very generously provided for a family of eleven. The Maryland Dept of Planning gave gifts and money for a homeless family of five.

Because of your generosity and effort Christmas was made brighter for each of our Christmas Families. I am grateful that CCPC is such a caring and compassionate family.

Marjorie Tanner, Coordinator of the CCPC 2004 Christmas Families Project