By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – There’s still time to help make the holidays a little brighter for local families in need through the Lincoln Park Goodfellows campaign to help those who have fallen on hard times.
“No Child Without a Christmas” serves as the motto for the adoption of families and providing gifts of food, presents and the comfort of knowing the community cares.
Lincoln Park Goodfellows President Matt Werling said the annual effort offers a direct connection between donations and outreach efforts with local parents unable to provide holiday treats to their children or share memorable family meals. The need has been more pronounced in recent years with families who suffered financial losses during the recession and have yet to fully recover.
Volunteers who work through the month to collect and prepare the donated packages of gifts, clothing and food are forever changed, Werling said, after seeing the joy on the children’s faces Christmas morning.
Along with the group’s traditional newspaper drive in town – through Dec. 20 – donations will be accepted through Dec. 17. Volunteers will meet, shop and prepare packages that evening at Lincoln Park High School, 1701 Champaign Road.
Werling said volunteers are always welcome for this and other Goodfellows efforts. For more information on the organization or how to help, go to www.lincolnparkgoodfellows.com, call 313-381-3216 email [email protected]
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])