Priti Shah, the Americorps member based out of Danbury, was instrumental in organizing Danbury’s first annual Children’s Holiday Party. She wrote this post to share about the event’s success!

On December 12^th, 2014, Danbury CHC held its first annual Children’s Holiday Party. Instead of having a staff gathering to celebrate the holidays, staff decided to use their collective efforts to give back to the community. The event was an opportunity for CHC children to take pictures with Santa, make ornaments and picture frames, eat holiday treats, and receive a gift from Santa.

With the help of committed staff and community partners, the event was a success with over 50 children and their families. Children were elated and families expressed being grateful. Santa’s elves worked diligently for the past few weeks organizing the event and mobilizing decorations, gifts, refreshments, and raffles. Despite being the first Holiday event for CHC children, staff utilized Danbury’s strength of committed staff and local businesses to collect a plethora of contributions from teddy bears to holiday treats to gift cards, all within weeks. Generous community supporters on Santa’s Nice List included A&P, Build-a-Bear, Chick-fil-a, Costco, Dunkin Donuts, Forever Yours Flowers & Gifts, Graham’s, Home Depot, Party Depot, Pepsi, Starbucks, Stop & Shop, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, and Walmart.

Finally, CHC would like to thank all staff, AmeriCorps, and community volunteers for giving their time and contributions.