ACAC Coordinates Holiday Gift Drive for Friendship Court Families

The countdown has begun—just a few more days until Christmas is here. Kids here in Charlottesville join with those around the world teeming with excitement awaiting the holiday tradition of gift giving. Christmas is a special time when family and friends come together and remember the good things they have. Children especially get excited because it’s also a time to give and receive presents! Some families, however, are not able to give as much to their children as they would like around the holidays. Thanks to ACAC Downtown, families at Friendship Court are receiving gifts through a special gift drive organized by the local athletic center to help bring joy to neighborhood children.

Interested families at Friendship Court were able to sign up for the Christmas gift drive with ACAC. The drive, organized by Assistant General Manager Paul Kyriacopoulos, has been going on for several consecutive years. Claudette Grant, Piedmont Housing Alliance’s Community Organizer at Friendship Court, provided Paul with the names of 100 children. ACAC put each of these names on its own ornament that hung on a Christmas tree in the foyer of the club. Guests could pick an ornament containing a wish list from the child whose name was on the ornament. Patrons returned the gifts to ACAC and the staff there coordinated gift-wrapping and delivery to Friendship Court. There, families are picking up the gifts just in time for Christmas!

In addition to these generous community gifts offered through ACAC members, two neighboring businesses helped three additional Friendship Court families, and Piedmont Housing Alliance assisted by providing gifts for six more Friendship Court children not on the ACAC list.

We thank our downtown neighbors and partners, ACAC, Downtown Family Health Care, b:core methods, and MADabolic, for their support in helping bring Christmas joy to families at Friendship Court.

Happy Holidays to all!