87 vehicles. Even more smiles.
This Christmas, we were able to bless kinship families with a Christmas Drive-Thru Experience! Some of these families can’t afford a big Christmas for the kids under their care, so this was a great opportunity to show love to them this season.
This was the first time we have done this Christmas party as a drive-thru, but when Luke came into my office one morning to ask if I would be willing to paint a giant Santa and his reindeer across 3 sheets of giant plywood, I knew he had a really cool vision for this event. And sure enough, it turned out to be an amazing experience for the families!
We had A LOT of different churches and organizations from across Colorado Springs step up and help us out: Pulpit Rock Church, Love Your Neighbor, Beautiful Redemption, North Springs Alliance Church, Sunrise Methodist Church, Girl Scout Troop 43335, Kangaroo Coffee, Story Coffee, Caffeinated Cow, Zeal Church, New Horizons Youth and Family Services, and Compassion International.
Because of all these amazing organizations, we were able to hand out $6,600 in gift cards, 167 board games, and 150 gift bags with various goodies to the 87 families that came through the Drive-Thru.
Those numbers sound impressive, but they don’t quite convey the impact as much as the smiles on kids’ faces and the gratitude expressed by the families.
Once the families entered the Drive-Thru, they were greeted at the first station with wrapped presents, gift bags, and board games. Then, they got to drive through a tunnel decked out in Christmas lights – complete with a snow machine! They turned the corner to take a photo next to Santa and his reindeer mounted to the wall above the roof of their car. To finish off, they viewed Christmas movies projected on the side of the building.
I had the opportunity to serve at the Picture with Santa station. I loved getting to take photos of these grateful families smiling from ear to ear under Santa and his reindeer taking flight.
Who would have thought that my role at Pulpit Rock Church would include painting such a thing? Being able to use my love for painting to create something that helped put smiles on these children’s faces was a Christmas gift all in itself.
I hope these kinship families felt Christ’s love this Christmas and enjoyed this event that so many volunteers poured their time into! I, for one, felt the joy of Christmas when I saw those kids’ faces light up.
