As has been the tradition for over forty years, on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, the Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg held its annual children’s Christmas event, which provided Christmas for 51 children. Because of COVID 19, this year’s event was different from those of prior years.
This year, rather than having the children gather for a pizza party and Santa delivering their gifts; their parents or guardians drove up to a designated area in the Christiansburg Recreation Center’s parking lot where Kiwanians handed them a bag of toys, a bag of clothing and a box of food for each child. For those unable to come pick up their gifts, the club arranged for the presents to be delivered.
The process began with the local schools’ providing the Kiwanis Club the names of children in need. The schools also obtained and provided the club with a list of the clothing needed and the toys desired. Once the names were received, each Kiwanian took a name and bought clothes for the child selected. The items of clothing purchased included coats, sweaters, shoes, boots, socks, pants, shirts and underwear.. On average, each club member spent in excess of $100 per child for clothing.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, a group of Kiwanis members went on a club-funded 7:00 a.m. shopping spree at Walmart and purchased toys for the children. Afterwards, club members took the toys to Belmont Christian Church where they were wrapped and bagged by the church’s youth group. Then the Kiwanians delivered the toys to the Christiansburg Recreation Center for pickup by the parents and distribution.to the children.
Between the members buying clothes and the club providing toys and food, the club spent in excess of $10,000 this year. Even though all of the 2020 major fundraisers were cancelled due to the pandemic, through donations and some savings from the prior year, the club was able to fund this year’s event.
The club had special thanks for Walmart and its employees, B & B Storage (Bryan Rice), Belmont Christian Church and its youth group, the Christiansburg Recreation Center and all the Kiwanis members who helped make this year’s Christmas event a success in spi9te of everything that worked against it.
Kiwanian Dennis Hunter served as the chairman of the event.