GATE CITY — The Appalachian Community Action Agency is hoping to make Christmas time a little merrier by using funds from an anonymous donation to buy presents and food for five Southwest Virginia families.
This year marks the fourth straight holiday season that AppCAA has received money from the Knoxville-based Appalachian Community Fund to use in the region.
The donation this year totaled $2,000 — the highest amount AppCAA has been given since the money began coming in 2009.
AppCAA Executive Director Angie Sproles said the organization used the money to purchase Christmas presents and food for a total of five families — one each from Wise County, Lee County and the city of Norton and two from Scott County.
“It’s made by a donor that wants to serve this part of Southwest Virginia,” Sproles said. “This year we were given $2,000 for five families with a total of 15 kids. So we set aside $500 for food and we spent about $100 on each of the children.”
The families that receive the help are “working poor” families who often struggle to make ends meet while still being able to buy presents and provide a happy holiday for their children, Sproles said.
“What we try to do when we select these families is select ones that aren’t getting assistance from other community programs,” Sproles said. “They are the people that don’t request that type of assistance, and they are just in a bad spot. They have always worked and life’s circumstances just kicked in. So that’s who we’re trying to help with this.”
AppCAA employee Karen Davidson, who is responsible for buying presents for each of the families, said the $100 per child is used to buy age-appropriate gifts for each girl or boy while the food money goes to purchasing health snacks and other meal items to eat over the Christmas break period.
“This year we had 3 years old to 15 years old,” Davidson said. “We like for them to have school-age children in the home. They always get one outfit and then we get them a toy, some books, some school supplies, and things like that.”
Although the program is designed to benefit the families it serves, both Sproles and Davidson said they felt they got more out of the experience by giving.
“It’s exciting to be able to help people,” Sproles said. “These are people that have a hard time covering their needs, and these are wants and things that they would have to forgo because of the necessities. ... It feels like Christmas to us because we get to go out and play Santa for people.”