A little dose of Hope

In 2008 an awesome collaboration of community leaders in Northwest Atlanta invited West Ridge Church to help them pull off the county Christmas program. We let them know what we could do, and together we were able to serve somewhere north of 1,000 families for Christmas. West Ridge didn’t do this alone.We partnered with A Fresh Hope, CAYA Ministries and Toys for Tots to pull it off. Several other local churches got involved as well.

This year, we thought we would do it again, invite more families, and provide more assistance. So with the same partners we are throwing a party on Saturday, December 19th from 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm at West Ridge Church. We call it, ‘Hope For Christmas‘

Here is what happens at the party;

1. Invite people who need some extra assistance with Christmas to come and receive a food box with enough stuff for Christmas Dinner,
2. Give every parent a toy for each child in their home,
3. Give every child a chance to ‘shop’ for free in Santa’s Secret Store. The store gives children who otherwise might not get gifts themselves the chance to experience the joy of giving. The store is filled with items for siblings, Mom and Dad, and grandparents.

Along with all of these elements are crafts, snacks, and Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick himself makes an appearance.

I believe a little dose of hope given in Jesus name has the potential to go a lot farther than people may realize.

Christmas is a magical time of year, but 1500 families don’t get assistance by magic. We need your help, and I would invite you to partner with us in one of the following ways.

1. It takes over 500 volunteers to pull this off both before the event and on the 19th itself. If you would give a little time, it will go a long way. (You can volunteer by going here)
2. We could use some gifts. Toys are less expensive this year than ever before. You can drop them off at West Ridge Church in boxes spread throughout the church or bring them in Monday-Thursday from 9am-5pm. We could also use gifts for Parents and Grandparents for the kids to choose from in Santa’s Secret Store (I love saying that name. Don’t know why )
3. We need canned goods. What would you want for Christmas dinner? Boxes of stuffing, potatoes, cans of yams, green beans and corn would be great.

If you want to volunteer or know someone that needs to register for assistance, you can take them to this link. There you will find two separate links for registration and volunteering.

We are also inviting over 400 families to this that were impacted by September’s flooding. It’s the least we can do for them.

Help us give a little dose of hope this year. It just might change the trajectory of an entire family.

Everyone Belongs,

Paul