Operation Merry Christmas
This Christmas, we are grateful for so much good news! Thanks to our generous donors – people like you – so many vulnerable children and struggling families had gifts under the tree.
In the Spirit of Giving, Football Players Stepped Up
Christie’s Sports & Philanthropy Group partnered with Academy Sports to sponsor a shopping spree event for deserving youth in the Tallahassee community. The organizers collaborated with college football players and coaches to identify deserving students from local schools, churches, or community organizations.
Jessie*, a football player and Florida A&M University graduate, was asked to mentor five deserving youths. He enlisted the help of his mother, Anita*, who volunteers with One More Child’s Single Moms program. Anita coordinated with the mothers of five young children, one of whom Jessie had invited to a football game earlier that month. With assistance from the Family Life Coordinator, Anita communicated the good news to each family and provided her contact information for further coordination.
The children had a fantastic holiday shopping spree experience at Academy Sports. The generosity deeply touched each family, and they thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
*Names changed for privacy.
Partner Toy Drives Put Gifts Under the Tree
Thank you, Refuge Church, for giving our foster families love and hope this holiday season! The church hosted a toy drive and shopping event that allowed foster families to select free presents for their foster children. Eleven 22 and Orange Theory Fitness contributed to the donations, and an anonymous donor gave more than $2000 in toys and gift cards to the event. Fifty-two volunteers served 71 foster families and provided toys for 253 children in foster homes and in the community foster homes that Refuge Church also serves. It was truly an event that brought the community together in care and service of foster families this holiday season.
Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church also partnered with One More Child to host a toy drive to support our Single Moms program. Thank you!
And Global Sponsorship Did Too!
Thanks to your generous giving, there were gifts under the Christmas trees of the children in our Global Child Sponsorship program. We were honored to help provide these precious children a Christmas to remember this year!
One More Child is dedicated to spreading love and transformative care to every vulnerable child in the developing world – there is always one more. Through Child Sponsorship, in the new year, you can create a lasting and positive impact in a child’s life and bring blessings to their family, including education, medical care, nutrition, and spiritual development to children in need across the globe.
With One More Child, you can sponsor a child in Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Romania, South Asia, and Uganda.
And We Turned Up the Lights One Night...
Our 8th annual toy giveaway on the Lakeland campus was also a great success! Families from the One More Child Backpack program, partner schools, and single moms were invited to pick out toys. More than 100 kids received free Christmas toys, thanks to the help of 40 volunteers. Santa and Mrs. Claus took pictures with the kids while their parents “shopped” among the donated items. There were plenty of crafts and cake pops to enjoy.
One More Child is grateful for our wonderful volunteers and donors who made this merry season possible!
And the Diapers Rolled In!
This holiday season, the South Florida Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) organized a diaper drive, raising $1,850 for diapers from ACFE members. Additionally, they matched this amount, resulting in a total donation of $3,700 to One More Child. We are grateful for our donors who rally those in their circles to support our mission and match those donations with their own giving. Their generous contribution will greatly benefit numerous children and families in need.
Learn how to organize a diaper drive to benefit the vulnerable children and struggling families we serve.
Meet the Need in the New Year
One More Child serves vulnerable children and struggling families through every season. Christmas is over, but the need continues. There is always one more child, one more struggling family we could reach with your help. Will you partner with us to make a difference in their lives in the next year?
Happy New Year from all of us at One More Child.