But we made merry for 44 preschoolers from the Village for Early Childhood Education in Littleton. For the 21st year -- 21 YEARS!! -- we hosted children and gave them big bags of clothing and toys -- parkas, knit caps, gloves, pajamas, warm-up suits and TOYS. We delighted as they ran onto the stage to meet Santa and as he coaxed each one to saying Merry Christmas! into the microphone.
Not shown: Don Loyd, Gary Sears, Santa Ron and Bonnie Olivett, all of whom also made the day special for these kids. Shoppers were Josh Staller, Bob Burdick, Gary Sears, Vee Sabel, Renee Tullius and Dawn Shepherd. Our leader and founder of this service project, Frank Sargent, was everywhere.
We are indebted to Walmart of Englewood for a $2,000 grant, discounts and help in selecting and wrapping gifts. We estimate that the value of our gifts and Walmart's exceed $25,000 since 2000. Special thanks to Walmart's Christine Welling. We greatly appreciate Nickie Crouse and the Buck Center, too, for their warm welcome and yummy kid food. Onto next year!
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