Youth Celebrate the Holidays

Hugs for Santa from one of the kids!

The Gateway Youth came together recently to celebrate the holidays. This gathering was all made possible through a generous donation from the Moose Lodge in Greenville; they also hosted the Christmas party for the families and mentors involved in the programs.

About 75 people attended the party where they enjoyed a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, and desserts that the youth in the program helped prepare. There was a visit from Santa and a generous raffle of gifts, baskets and gift cards. The families enjoyed a craft table with several different crafts to choose from. As if the event was not fun enough, a little girl requested to sing a song, which turned into many of the kids wanting to take a turn on the karaoke mic and fill the room with even more holiday cheer.

Our sincere thanks to the Moose Lodge for their donation so the families of Gateway could come enjoy this time together, in addition there were purchases of other needed items for the participants. A big thank you to all the mentors, mentees, and families who came out this night to celebrate Christmas with us. We hope you all enjoyed yourselves and look forward to doing this in the years to come!

Council on Rural Services provides education and support through Gateway Youth Programs, Achievement Center for Educational Success (ACES), Kids Learning Place™, Head Start, and Early Head Start in their nine county service area. For more information about Gateway Youth, call 937-548-8002 and talk with Ruth Barga, Support Specialist.