The LCM will be closed from December 23 to January 1. We will be back on January 2. We will not be receiving food donations during this time because the volunteers are off spending time with their families. The thrift store will be closed as well.
Before we begin the holiday break, I wanted to express my gratitude for the overwhelming amount of donations of both food and toys. I say overwhelming because it has literally overwhelmed our storage capacity. We have food stuffed everywhere. I want to thank you for this. The less money we spend on shelf stable items in 2026, the more money we have to spend on produce, butter and eggs. We also are able to spend on toiletries, a program I had to cut earlier this year.
Our community really came through for us with toy drives. There will be 475 children who will have a reason to smile on Christmas Day because of the generosity of the people living in this area. We did self-selection on the Christmas room this year. It was a huge success. Thank you to every volunteer who joined the Elf Squad to wrap all of those gifts and serve as personal shopping aides.
I tell this story often when I am invited to speak, but I think it demonstrates just how important this holiday program is. A little girl came in with her parents a few day after Christmas two years ago.The parents had been working extra hours and were unable to get to the Co-op. I was there processing the deliveries that have to be picked up. I let them in and got them a delayed Christmas dinner kit plus the gifts a church had purchased. The little girl who was maybe 4 or 5 opened her gift to find a Barbie doll.
“Mommy,” she cried, “Santa didn’t forget about me. He just got the wrong address!” A happy dance followed. If you know me, you know I can’t resist joining in with a happy dance. We danced to celebrate this little girl knowing she had not been forgotten.
I’m very blessed to witness the kindness of people who take care of their struggling neighbors before they settle into their own celebrations. There are 475 children this year who know that Santa didn’t forget about them. As they grow into adults and remember these years, they will know that our community believed they mattered. Their happiness mattered. Their brain development mattered with toys that support imagination and creativity. Now, that’s a reason to happy dance.
We did a new program this year where we allowed children to come and select gifts for their parents or grandparents (whoever their guardian may be). A special thank you to Bridget Hannah and the Gwinnett County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority who supplied most of these items and Cornerstone Bible Church who crocheted a bunch of lap blankets for this project. There were guardians who told me this was the only gift they will receive this year. There were some who said they hadn’t gotten a gift in years. Children were so pleased to be able to give something to the people who matter most to them. The memory of little people decorating the bags holding these gifts with such concentration and care is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.
I want to thank Jack Setterfield, a professional Santa Claus, who volunteered to come during one of these shopping sessions. Parents were so grateful to have a photo with Santa, a luxury most of our clients can’t afford. The kids were thrilled to meet him in person.
I’d also like to thank Berkmar High School and Middle School students, Trickum Middle School students, Grace Snellville Men’s Group, and the First Baptist Church Homeschool students for their contributions to set up, decorate, organize and operate. This was truly a community project.
I have been working very long hours this year and I’ll be taking the holidays off while Dan watches the shop. I want to thank Morgan, who was project lead on Operation Santa. What an extraordinary job she did. And I want to thank Nathan who has been taking actual tons of thrift donations and quietly turning them into income for the LCM – not to mention the extra support he gives our families to make their holidays merrier.
I wish you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings for the coming year. You have made mine a very happy holiday.
