[3629] in APO News
volunteers needed to hand out presents to homeless kids
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Darlene Ford)
Mon Dec 14 17:22:48 1998
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 16:45:21 -0500
From: "Darlene Ford" <darford@psicorp.com>
To: <apo@ai.mit.edu>
I got this from one of the volunteers, who reported that they were quite =
short-handed. I was too hosed to get detailed info. about when and wher=
e they need folks; is one of the SVP types motivated to check this out?
YiLFS,
Darlene
=AF----------------------------------------------------------------------=
------------------------------
MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Catherine Horton
617-928-3149
=09
1500 CHILDREN TO ATTEND 9TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY=20
FOR BOSTON'S HOMELESS FAMILIES
"CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY" hosts event at the Bayside Exposition Center, Bos=
ton =20
DATE: Sunday, December 20, 1998
PLACE: Bayside Expo
TIME: 12pm - 4pm=09
EVENT: "Christmas in the City", a non-profit organization to benefit Bost=
on's Homeless Children, will host 9th annual Christmas Party for families=
living in over 25 local shelters. An unprecedented 1500 children are ex=
pected to attend.
Come and see how Filene's Basement turns an ordinary hall into the magica=
l North Pole!
Watch as the children's faces light up at receiving a hot dinner (complim=
ents of Fasano's of Braintree) as well as a gift from their own Christmas=
"wish list", a bag filled with donated incidentals including hats, mitte=
ns, an age appropriate book courtesy of New England Mobile Books, an acti=
vity toy from Safety 1st, a long sleeve *T* shirt from the Boston Athleti=
c Association, a hat from Lids, stuffed animals and much more!
Don't miss the unveiling of the Winter Wonderland at 1:30 where parents a=
nd kids will enjoy hours of non-stop entertainment. Activities include:
Pictures with Santa
Free Haircuts from SalonPini of Newbury Street
Face painting
3 Moonwalks
Merry-Go-Round
Giant Slide
Petting Zoo
Reptile Exhibit
Baseball Pitching Station
Trackless Train
Hat making with the Children's Museum
Excersise class from BUILDING ACTIVE CHILDREN
Christmas in the City Annual Party, Page 2
Additional live performances include:
The extremely talented local band "Ice" performs for the 5th straight yea=
r
Fanuel Hall=A2s Premier Street magician, Blair Tollefson
South Central Mass Choir=20
Caribbean Explosion
South Shore Joey's
Arthur the Aardvark from Channel 2
And much, much more
Soldiers of Health will also be on hand with a medical booth to provide h=
ealth information for parents
Hundreds of volunteers are gearing up for the annual event, spending coun=
tless hours soliciting donations, organizing activities and coordinating =
the distribution of gifts and services to help make it a special day that=
these kids won't soon forget. =20
Christmas in the City was founded by John and Sparky Kennedy of Scituate,=
MA. "Christmas In The City" is a non-profit organization dedicated to h=
elp spread the Christmas Spirit to Boston's homeless children all year lo=
ng.
Additional Programs sponsored by "Christmas in the City" include:
ADOPT A FAMILY=20
With funds generated from the organization, Christmas in the City, helps =
families make a successful transition from homeless shelters to independe=
nt living. Once a person feels he/she is ready to venture out on his or h=
er own, C.I.T.C. provides a transitional "box of basics" including pots,=
pans, sheets, towels, utensils, etc. Then, volunteers interview the fami=
lies on a monthly basis. A list of necessities is established and posted=
at Kennedy Brothers Physical Therapy clinics. From there, clients to he=
lp support the families needs donate goods and services. Nine families h=
ave benefited from this program to date, and this year, 8 people who made=
a successful transition have come back to volunteer at the annual Christ=
mas Party.
Shelter Support=20
Lifehouse was chosen as the first shelter to be adopted by C.I.T.C. The p=
rogram assesses the immediate needs of a shelter (i.e. furniture, toys fo=
r the kids, clothes) and raises money to meet those needs. Most recently=
, C.I.T.C. established a grant to allow a day care program to run out of =
the shelter. The program pays mothers to take turns caring for the child=
ren so others can work, look for jobs, take classes etc. to work toward i=
ndependent living.=20
This year the C.I.T.C. auction raised $85,000 to help fund this event, an=
d recently provided 250 thanksgiving meals to local shelters for Thanksgi=
ving this year.=20
