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Santa’s Gift Bag
2008 Report
Every year as the holidays approach, the Office of Community Service facilitates a program called Santa’s Gift Bag. Through this program we offer help to local families in need of assistance providing Christmas gifts for their child (or children). After receiving a letter from our office, these families provide us with information to pass on to sponsors who shop for presents for the children. With the assistance of community members and our local Mansfield Fire Department, the gifts are packed and ready for pick-up or delivery several days before Christmas.
2008 was a tremendous SUCCESS!!!!
Gifts were provided for 193 children, ranging in age from newborn -18. These 193 children (27 more than last year) were from 84 families (15 more than 2007). All of the children are students at a Mansfield school (Mansfield High, Miller Elementary, New Covenant Academy), a member of an area day care center or a sibling of one of the above.
Gifts were provided for 99 Females and 94 Males.
The age breakdown of the gift recipients was:
Ages: 0-4: 35 gift recipients
5-9: 72 gift recipients
10-13: 39 gift recipients
14-18: 47 gift recipients
None of this would have been possible without our wonderful SPONSORS
and generous COMMUNITY SUPPORT!
Our sponsors came from both the university and the community. Students, faculty, staff, community members and businesses were all sponsors.
Below is a breakdown of those who helped sponsor a child, children, family or families this year.
MU STUDENTS:
Residence Halls (Cedarcrest and Laurel) were able to sponsor 7 children.
2 UNV 1100 classes sponsored children.
15 student organizations sponsored one or more children.
32 individual students sponsored a total of 45 children. (This almost quadrupled from 2007!!)
1 sports team and 1 residence hall floor were sponsors.
We estimate that a minimum of 600 MU students participated this year.
MU FACULTY/STAFF:
33 individual faculty and staff helped with many taking 2 or more kids.
3 Departments helped by sponsoring 16 children.
We estimate that over 50 faculty and staff participated. (This is up from 40 last year.)
COMMUNITY:
The Mansfield Chapter of Kiwanis, Northwest Savings Bank and Wendy’s each sponsored a family.
In addition, the Mansfield Chapter of Kiwanis helped us by providing people and vehicles to transport gifts to the fire hall and Northwest Savings Bank held a toy drive.
For the third year in a row, The Laurel Doll Club of Pennsylvania made a monetary donation and a donation of toys/dolls.
We received several generous monetary donations from the following members of the community:
Beiter’s Home Center, First Baptist Church of Mansfield (Deacons’ Benevolence Fund),
Holy Child Catholic Church (Charity Fund) and McDonald’s.
We also received monetary donations from members of the Mansfield University Community including:
North Hall Employees…Thanks to Jamey Harris for coordinating this!
Jim Harrington, Roger Maisner and the MU Criminal Justice Club.
We did not need to buy any toys to supplement children this year because of very generous donations from:
Steve Hilfiger, the MU Campus Bookstore and the Dollar General in Wellsboro who selected Santa’s Gift Bag as its philanthropy this year and thus provided boxes and boxes of toys.
Finally, MAEOP (Mansfield Association of Educational Office Professionals) not only sponsored children but had a gift wrap drive which yielded lots of bows, wrapping paper, tissue paper, tape, tags—everything our families needed to wrap their gifts.
A Special Thanks goes out to:
-The Community Churches in Mansfield who make and fill a stocking for each child. Thanks to Carol Wooley for coordinating this effort!
-Partners in Progress who purchase hats and mittens/gloves for each child. Thanks to Nicole Smith for coordinating this effort!
-The Mansfield Volunteer Fire Association who allow us to use the fire hall for several days and whose members help sort, distribute and deliver gifts to some of the families. Special thanks to Arlene Welch!
-Joe Maresco for all the work he did behind the scenes.
-and last, but certainly not least, thanks to Tessa Bieber, our amazing and wonderful student worker. Without her help, SGB would not have come together so smoothly or been so organized. We’ll miss you!
We want to thank every single person who helped whether big or small!
We could not do it without each and every one of you!!!
Thanks again for making Santa’s Gift Bag 2008 such a success!
In gratitude,
Rev. Deborah Casey and Courtney Hull,
Santa’s Gift Bag Coordinators and Campus Ministers at Mansfield University
EVERYONE WELCOME! Stop by for prayer, meditation, some quiet time, whatever you need to refresh yourself!