...In Beckley ...In Charleston Continued

We received a $1,000 grant from WV Council of Churches. This grant allowed us to provide clothing, hygiene It was a special Christmas at the Southern West Virginia items, infant items, and diapers to foster children and families in need. From Aetna we received a donation Exceptional Youth Emergency Child Shelter. The children of $1,248. This donation spoke to their desire for our children to always be warm. This grant allowed us to were blessed by generous donors from the community. purchase coats, hats, and gloves. We tried to purchase the items that fit each kid’s personality whenever possible. Little girls loved being zipped into Frozen Anna and Elsa coats and hats and the little boys loved Books-A-Million donated $2,000 worth of toys and books. the hats with trucks and coats that at times displayed their favorite truck or dinosaur. Individuals around the community came together and donated $900 worth of toys, clothing and electronics. Despite the Natalie Shelton and other employees at City National Bank every year ask that we pandemic, the kids had a wonderful Christmas. bring a tote to their location on Hale Street so that customers and employees can place toys in it during the Christmas Season. This year they provided their own tote The EYES Shelter would like to thank everyone who made because with every year this effort grows larger and larger. With their wonderful this years Christmas special for our children. generosity, the customers as well as the employees provided well over $600 in toys for boys and girls of all ages. Many thanks to Natalie Shelton, City National Bank employees, and the kind and caring costumers. You made Christmas much brighter for many children!

We were also able to provide My Stuff bags from Aetna to our children in foster care. These bags included stuffed animals, books, activity books, hygiene and cosmetic items and the always welcomed soft blanket. All the children’s eyes lit up as they eagerly unzipped their bags to see what they received. Each stuffed animal was instantly hugged, and they displayed excitement over the books that they immediately wanted to read and the older girls were excited for the journals and cosmetics they could not wait to use.

CHS works in conjunction with the Healthy Grand families Project. This project provides assistance to grand families and kinship families who are parenting children. Through this project we were able to work closely ...In Charleston with a family. We were able to provide supplemental food for the month, Christmas dinner, along with a Christmas tree with decorations, and presents for the two special needs children in the home along with presents for the great grand-mother. The grandmother was concerned in how she would be able to provide The Charleston Site would like to extend our condolences to everyone Christmas to her great grandchildren and this program in conjunction with CHS was able to meet her and who has lost a loved one last year. We would like to applaud the dedicated her family’s need. The great grand-mother was so thankful for the assistance and happy in the knowledge workers who graciously put their lives on the line each and every day to that her family would have a good Christmas. come to work. We would also like to thank the law enforcement officers as they continue to protect us and respond to our needs during this time. We Additionally, for our foster families we were able to purchase and provide to each foster family a basket filled would like to thank our hospitals and vendors as they continued to take care with activities and snacks for a fun filled family night. The families loved the family oriented baskets and we of our kids and we would like to thank our Donors or anyone we may have received many pictures of children drinking their hot chocolate, and sitting around the table enjoying their left out, none of this is possible without you. 2020 has shown us a lot but the most important lesson it has snacks with big smiles on their faces. taught us is, we need each other and together we can make a difference. Overall the Christmas season was a wonderful time for our families. The children’s smiles, giggles, and thankfulness for all they received is one of the things that makes the season so bright. Christmas has always been a time of giving and family. We at Children’s Home Society continue to use this season to reflect on the relationships and families that we have been a part of over the past year and continue to seek ways that we can provide for our family’s needs.

During the Christmas season, CHS was able to bless the children in foster care and our foster families in several ways. We received assistance from many agencies and we were able to pass that assistance on to our families.

1 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 2 Davis Child Shelter ...In Charleston Continued Christmas is a very magical time around the world but it was very special at Davis Child Shelter. As a team, we made the month of December The location for their drop off may have changed this year, but their enthusiasm and dedication to our special for our residents and staff. As always our community stepped children and families certainly did not. Due to the pandemic, the Teamsters were more committed than up and provided generous donations for our site. We received mp3 ever to help needy families. The Teamsters delivered a whopping $45,000 in toys, bikes, clothing, and players (Carolyn Lewis), $500 Target gift card (London Straughter), non-perishable food items this year to our Operations Office in Charleston. It took several hours to get toys/clothes (long time donors, The Golden Oldies), Disney blankets everything unloaded and organized, but it was all worth it. In spite of a tough year, the Teamsters were (Kenneth Webb), pizza from several local churches, Shoes/hoodies, thrilled they were able to bring Christmas to many needy children and their families again this year. This Nintendo switches, and other items from local donors. Golden Oldies year the Teamsters brought joy to 1,063 children and families throughout the Kanawha Valley.

The Teamsters Local 175 has been working with the Children’s Home Society for approximately 20 years, Our theme this year was “Welcome to the North Pole.” Upon entering the facility each visitor was greeted donating over a half a million dollars in food, toys and clothes. We cannot thank them enough for what by a life sized Santa. Once you entered the facility, you could feel the dedication and effort that it took to they do year after year. Here is to looking forward to many more Christmases ahead! make Davis come “alive.” As you explored the shelter, you saw little Christmas towns, Christmas gifts, snow, Christmas lights, inflatables, and most importantly joy and laughter from our kiddos.

To kick off our festivities, we had each kid write out Christmas lists so we could give it to Santa. This was followed by making gingerbread homes. Our Shift Supervisors did a great job facilitating this activity. Our kids were excited about making these homes, so we made it into a competition, with the winner receiving a gift card. Due to the extreme joy and participation, they were ALL winners in our books.

We proceeded throughout the month with several Christmas themed activities, such as Christmas movies, pizza parties, game nights, and seeing Christmas lights. Due to COVID-19, we proceeded with extreme precaution on the way we celebrated. We weren’t able to participate in our traditional Christmas party, so we had to think outside the box. We hung stockings on the wall for each staff and had 5 days of Christmas. Each day, we put something inside of the stocking until the 5th day. On the 5th day, we put a gift card and a note thanking each staff for their hard work. Our youth care workers are truly the success of our site so we wanted to recognize them. The administrators participated in a secret Santa gift exchange. We exchanged gifts during a potluck in the conference room. We played games, laughed, and shared a lot of stories with each other. Given the stressors of the year and pandemic, we really needed this. Christmas day was magical for the kids. They rushed to the Christmas tree to open their gifts. Most were unexpected, several kids made the comment of it being their “best Christmas ever.” It was truly a magical morning.

3 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 4 ...In Huntington ...In Huntington Cont.

The Janet Smith Vineyard Forever Families Center for Permanency and The Hovah Hall Underwood Children’s Home had a white Christmas Hovah Hall Underwood Children’s Home both had a wonderful Christmas this year which added a little magic to the fun activities, good food and again this year. For so many reasons, the hustle and bustle of Jan’s presents. Thanks to the generosity of donors and the hard work of House during the holidays is simply a joy to experience. Here are just a shelter staff, all of our residents received everything on their wish list few of the amazing things we were blessed to be a part of. The Nancy for Christmas. Our kids enjoyed various activities in the days leading Stuart Tonkin Children’s Resource Center accepted over $6,000 in-kind up to Christmas including holiday themed movie nights, games and donations and $3,400 in monetary donations from multiple community crafts. Christmas morning is always a special time at the shelter and partners and individuals. We would like to recognize the following: this year was no exception. We got to watch as our kids excitedly opened their presents Christmas morning and enjoyed playing and spending time together all day long. • Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church - Gift cards, coats, games and clothing. • Highlawn Presbyterian Church - Duffle bags, toys, hand-made toboggins, The Huntington Permanency program opened up our first foster home in mid-October. At the beginning board games and clothing. of November, a sibling group of 4 needed a home. Even though our family was willing and eager to • The Cabell, Wayne Animal Shelter - New stuffed animals. accept them, due to the family already having 3 children of their own, they were only licensed to accept • Dutch Miller Auto Group - Hams and turkeys. 3 additional children. Ultimately, two of the children were placed with our Huntington family and the other • Salon Lotus - Clothing, hair tools, make-up and toys. two were placed with another CHS family. The children were sad about being separated but each of our • Nancy Dishman - Toys, stuffed animals, arts and crafts and blankets. homes were committed to providing them the best possible nurturing to see them through this difficult • Teamsters Local 175 - Toys. time. During Christmas, the other CHS family expressed that they would be traveling over the holiday and • Mike Insco, Pita Pit - Little Red Stocking Contribution needed to find respite for the two siblings in their care. Our Huntington family was elated for the opportunity • Tommy Mullins - Monetary donation to support the Nancy Stuart Tonkin and immediately accepted the challenge knowing it would be an overwhelming responsibility to provide Resource Center. a big family Christmas experience for all four foster siblings, along with their three other children. The • Charles and Wanda Smith - Monetary donation. children were in shock and disbelief as they laid eyes on their sisters for the first time in over a month. • Mardi Gras Casino - Monetary donation. They immediately ran to each other hugging and telling each other how much they loved and missed • Anna and Charles Robinson - Monetary donation. one another. Neither our family, nor the children would wipe the smiles off their faces for hours. Such a • Beth Morrison - Monetary donation to support the Nancy Stuart Tonkin beautiful story about Jan’s House very first licensed foster family demonstrating the love of Jesus to these Resource Center. little ones as they spent the entire week of Christmas as a group. We can’t wait to see the growth that • Anne and Ben Sutton - Monetary donation. Jan’s House will experience in 2021. • Amelia Courts - Monetary donation. • Jordyn Lucas - Monetary donation. • Kristen Golden - Monetary donation. • Pallottine Foundation - Grant funding to support the Resource Center. • United Way of the River Cities - Grant funding to support the Resource Center.

From these gifts, we were able to put smiles on the faces of 75 children in the local community. Our Region II Safe at Home program was able to provide gifts to over 60 clients and their siblings in 27 families. A few of those families were provided Christmas trees and decorations to insure the children had a traditional Christmas experience. The Safe at Home facilitators enjoyed spending time with the clients decorating ornaments, hanging lights, enjoying movies, cocoa and gift wrapping. We also had a special sponsor who provided Christmas gifts for a Safe at Home family with 5 children. The Safe at Home kids were happy and grateful for what they received and many expressed this was the best Christmas EVER!

We are proud to share that the Nancy Stuart Tonkin Children’s Resource Center provided 1,810 meals over the Thanksgiving holiday and another 1,223 meals over the Christmas holiday! Over 10,000 meals have been provided to children and families since July 2020! In addition to meals we have been able to disperse infant essentials, clothing, cleaning supplies and hygiene products to many families in our community, including our CHS client families.

5 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 6 ...In Lewisburg ...In Lewisburg Cont.

The Christmas Season at the Lewisburg Site is always full of giving, love Just when we thought we had completed our Christmas giving, a Par Mar fundraising and joy. Although the circumstances of life this year provided barriers effort in Pocahontas County made all the difference in the lives of one special family for everyone, Lewisburg’s Christmas Spirit was as strong as ever. who was presented with toys, clothing, winter gear, cleaning supplies, food and gift Christmas 2020 was filled with gift giving and hope. It provided help cards. Three shopping carts full to be exact. A true Christmas Miracle for a family in for foster families, community members and kinship families as well as need. We cannot forget to mention the monetary giving from a few local families that an outpouring of support from our community that we never expected. helped with those last minute children in need who came through our door the week In total we served over 130 children in our four counties; Greenbrier, before the Christmas holiday. Pocahontas, Monroe and Summers. The 2020 Christmas season was surprisingly perfect, helping the Lewisburg Site renew its faith in the An email from the Osteopathic School of Medicine in October started our Christmas goodness of others and providing Christmas happiness for so many children and families. We are thankful journey early. Due to their limited vacation time, they had less time off to shop and and we are beyond blessed. prepare for their annual Heart of the Holidays event. While COVID kept us from gathering together with them as we usually do, it provided a new outlook on gift giving which included the biological children in the homes where gifts were being provided. The administration and students at the Osteopathic School asked if they could provide a stocking filled with goodies for the biological children who share their homes and families with children in foster care. That generosity and thoughtfulness led to them providing Christmas for 50 foster children and 29 biological children.

Warner Music School once again displayed their beautiful Angel Tree filled with foster angels who community members “adopted” and provided Christmas for in abundance. A total of 16 children were served through their amazing efforts and support. Greenbrier East High School followed suit, once again helping provide a plentiful amount of gifts for 40 children in need. A grant through the West Virginia Council of Churches provided funding for our Community Closet, which made Christmas extra special for 15 children, some with developmental disabilities, which makes their Christmas list unique.

Our Little Red Stocking campaign (LRS) had tremendous community support with multiple new local partners in all four counties we serve this year. We are so grateful to all of the small businesses who promoted our LRS event. We held a LRS coloring contest through the school system and Facebook, which garnered 250 submissions! Applebees held a Together We Care Tuesday event for us raising almost $600 for our permanency program as well as helping to spread the word about our Lewisburg location, Little Red Stocking campaign and the foster care and adoption program. We had a very generous donation of books and pajamas from Barnwood Living and we formed multiple new friendships in our community through all of these events.

7 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 8 The Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home ...Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home Cont.

Meanwhile, we had a whole situation happening for our residents. Donna Cadle-Whitt, had decided that Twenty-Twenty has been a particularly odd year. Pandemic has changed our everyday life in so many she would have a Christmas party for the kids. One does not realize the magnitude of the words “Christmas ways. New protocols, new rules, new fears, new problems. It’s been a year of struggle to say the least. But Party” until they see Donna’s definition of a Christmas Party! Donna began I wanted to turn our year of struggle into a year of gratitude and thankfulness. to enlist the help of several other community members and was preparing Sometimes we let our frustrations get the best of us and we focus on the to throw quite a bash for our kids. She decorated the Cadle Farm with trees negative. But here at Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home (GVCH), we try and lights and had Christmas cookies baked and personalized gifts for each to find the silver lining in every storm cloud. Although we have been limited child. This was to be the biggest bash we had seen at the Cadle Farm. in going out and about with our kids, we have been safe at the shelter with Unfortunately, COVID prevented us from actually going to the farm. But it did plenty of food and safe place to be. not prevent Miss Donna from shipping all the gifts and cookies to the shelter. The kids were so excited. Linda Gabbert had taken the time to hand paint each one of the children a wooden stocking tag with their name on it. Children who live in congregate care love personalized gifts. They love to have their name In March when the lock downs started, we began to notice an influx of on something, something that can only belong to them. Our children were so proud of those tags, most wanderers outside. The homeless population was on the rise. We even had of them hung them on their bedroom doors. several folks stop by and ask if we had food. We decided to create a blessing box to put outside and stock with food for people who needed it. That’s been Donations continues to pour in. Donations for our community drive and also for our own kids. Our children one busy box. We could hardly keep it full. When the weather began to turn received gifts almost every day for about a week leading up to Christmas. And the week before Christmas in the fall, we found a handwritten note in the box, thanking us for providing the director of the Greenbrier County Toys for Tots, came and dropped of four, food and asking if we had any hats or gloves because it was getting cold out. FOUR FOOT TALL toy bins, loaded with toys. It was starting to get a little The note looked to have been written by a child. Broke my heart to pieces. overwhelming at this point. It was time for everyone to throw in and help us dig So, I began to ask the community for help keeping the box filled with winter our way out of Christmas donations. apparel. We had 33 families for whom we had prepared Christmas Dinner boxes. I had my staff call each family and get the sizes and genders of all the family members. We produced second boxes for each family. People began calling to ask if we were going to be able to help with Thanksgiving One box was full of food, the second was full of clothing, shoes, hats, gloves etc. So from our box ministry dinners like we had done in the past. We got a late start, but we decided to do we fed and clothed 48 adults and 89 children. But there was still more stuff. So we contacted the Head Christmas dinner boxes. Once again, I began asking the community for help. My Start program, the Birth to Three and the Committee on Aging. We sent 50 toys to Head goal was to be able to help 15 families. I knew with the pandemic that Christmas Start; 75 toys to Birth to Three and 35 toys to the kids at the EYES shelter. We also sent would be a little more strained and people wouldn’t have as much to give or 45 blankets to the Committee on Aging. We filled the blessing box every day, sometimes donate. Or at least, I thought I knew that. twice a day. When it was all said and done, we helped 217 individuals, not including the blessing box folks and not including our own residents.

Western Greenbrier began to do what Western Greenbrier always does, which is out-give my expectations. We started receiving checks in the mail for the food drive, people were dropping off food, hats, gloves, coats, everything and more than we asked for. Donations were piling up. We were putting hats, coats etc in the blessing box but we were getting donations by the droves. We had one lady that heard our pleas for hats and scarves and she hand crochets two garbage bags full. By the first of December, I couldn’t see the floors in the my office. We would like to thank the following businesses for their support: Donna’s Quilter’s Guild, Greenbrier County Young Life, Invenergy, Summit Bank, Rupert Womans Club, Botetourt Community Church, Lewisburg Church of Christ, New Prospect Baptist Church, Massanuten, American Beer Company, Ace Hardware, Dr. Carr’s office, (DDS); Department of Highways, District 9 office; Rupert Family Dollar Store, Rupert Dollar General Store.

We would like to thank the following individuals for their support: Gary Lilly, Julia Thompson & Verna Bowes, (Shelter Grandma and Aunt Verna); Donna Cadle, Mary Leb & Doctor Bob, Linda Gabbert, Timmy Wickline, Adria Ward, Tammie Feamster, Danny Franco, Frank Ziburg, Cindy Vance, Susie Minturn, Cindy Rhodes, Rachael Mundy, Kelly Brackenridge, Lesley Samuals, Emily Hyde, Mandy Tincher, Davina Agee, Monica Bowyer, Diann Trout, Marty Martin, Christine Depriest, Donna Regis, Casey & Linda Whitlow, Suzie Adkins, Irene & Joseph Harrah, Travis Troutman.

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...Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home Cont. ...Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home Cont.

Now, outside of the work we did for the community, we still had our little elves working diligently for our We also had a young man who only asked for socks, t-shirts and pair of slides (all of which, he got). When residents. We had our 6th Christmas at GVCH this year. Christmas is my favorite time of year in the he was finished opening everything, he sat quietly there taking in the mass chaos that had taken over the shelter. I have made it my passion to make sure that our children have their best Christmas ever when rest of the room. I asked him if he was ok and he said, “I’ve been bad all year. Why did I get all this stuff? I they are with us. We have had wonderful Christmas mornings that have left little memories on my heart am not a good kid.” My response was, “Santa sees the good in every kid and there’s plenty to see in you.” – but Christmas 2020 takes the cake. Somehow in 2020, GVCH began receiving an influx of younger His eyes watered up a little bit and he looked away. He mumbled a “thank you.” children into the shelter. It seemed that the pandemic sparked a spike in referrals on younger foster children. What we have learned about sheltering the littles is that….well….it’s hard. They have temper tantrums, they break things, they cry a lot, they need help with almost everything. Frankly, it is exhausting but at the same time, very rewarding. Christmas is a time of giving for us at GVCH. It brings joy to make wishes come true for other people. Our kids often spend so much time being disappointed and let down by the adults in their lives, that we live for Anyone who has participated in Christmas morning at a shelter knows that it’s a gamble as to how the giving them a moment when they finally see someone come through for them. In many ways, 2020 has morning will go. Kids are feeling a lot of emotions on Christmas morning, being away from their families. been a terrible and tragic year. We will mark Christmas 2020, as the best yet for GVCH. In a time when Sometimes they have angry reactions, or just cannot control their emotions. Christmas morning is like there is so much turmoil and uncertainty, it sure was nice to see the magic of Christmas come to life in the Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, “you never know what you’re gonna get.” faces of these children. We won’t forget the excitement over a package of underwear or the emotion that was felt over the gift of a doll. We don’t know how these kids stories will end up, but we hope that when they Our kids made lists and Santa did the best he could and when Christmas look back on their lives, they count the Christmas of 2020 as much a blessing as we do. morning had finally arrived, Santa was a little anxious about how it wasall going to turn out. We gathered all the kids into the rec room and had all their “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” gifts divvied up. When we told them they could start opening, it was like a whirlwind. Every single gift they opened, they would leap into the air, squeal - Hamilton Wright Mabie with excitement and then show it to everyone. I don’t care if it was a pack of underwear, they were like, “Ahhh, I got underwear!” Then they would run around to all the staff and show them. This was the case with every single gift and stocking stuffer. I have never seen two kids be more excited about a pocket Bible and some slime. Honestly, it was wonderful. ...In Logan

Then there was a little girl who told staff that she always wanted an American Girl doll, but when she submitted her Christmas list, that wasn’t on it. I asked her why she didn’t ask for an American Girl doll The Holiday Season at the June Montgomery Harless Emergency and she said, “I know it’s too expensive, so I didn’t want to ask.” Which only meant Child Shelter and the Logan site was a very blessed one. Thanks to the that I was determined that she would have an American Girl doll. So, on Christmas generosity of donors and the support from community. morning when she tore back that first sheet of wrapping paper and saw that she had an American Girl doll, she stopped and put her hand over her mouth. Her eyes filled with tears and her face got red. She looked up at me and said, “I can’t believe it.” We would like to thank the following for their generous donations. Scott Her little voice was cracking and she went on to say, “I have asked and asked but Brisco and his group of Christmas Elves; for donating suitcases, hygiene my mommy never could get me one.” I was sitting by Jennifer and I looked over and products, clothing and more. Debbie Holland, with Aetna Health, donated said, “Oh my gosh, she’s crying.” Jennifer said, “yes, and now I’m crying.” And I was 10 drawstring bags with hygiene products, water bottles and Christmas hats for all. Justin Bradley and our struggling to hold back my own tears when I looked around the room and saw that all the staff were crying. friends at Auto Doctor, donated gift bags with hygiene products. Pam Surber, from the Harless Center in she hardly knew how to react. She was truly overjoyed over a $59 doll. I would buy that doll over and over Gilbert, donated suitcases for each child, along with DVD players and CD players with gift cards. Contura again, just to see that reaction. Energy provided gift cards totaling $600 to be divided between the children. The staff at Coalfield Health Services provided a $200 donation to rent out the movie theater for the kids and another $116 donation for food. Bob Noone gave a $500 donation to ensue the children have a great Christmas. Senator; Ron While the littles were running about the room, shouting about their gifts, there were two young men sitting Stollings, matched his donation with another $500. Shad and Lana Lauritzen provided a $400 donation. P3 quietly, as they opened theirs. One of them had asked for a Chicago Bulls hat for Christmas and not Security and Thornback Holdings gave donations of $300 and $200 to purchase Christmas gifts. much else. He did get that hat and also got a Chicago Bulls backpack and Jordan socks. After he opened the hat, he said “that’s all I wanted. I don’t even need to open all these other gifts. The hat is enough.” Madison Baptist Church has a long tradition of providing a Christmas meal for the kids. This year, due Although, he did open up the rest of his gifts, he sat there (with his hat on) and it took him a minute to gain to COVID, they provided the shelter with a $250 gift card to the local Bob Evans for our Christmas meal. enough composure to open the other items. He said that he had never gotten so much for Christmas. Brothers of the Wheel, wanted to be sure the children had a great Christmas by providing cookie trays, duffel bags and a donation of $1,409 to purchase gifts for the children.

11 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 12

...In Logan Cont. ...In Martinsburg

WECAN Christmas party drive through the North Pole was a driving success. The Children Home Society’s We kicked off our holiday season with our Little Red Stocking WECAN program would like to thank our community business partners. Logan Mingo Area Mental Health Campaign; we had 60 Community partners fundraising for our for the use of your facility, Giovannis of Man, and Hillbilly Fire Pit, for their donation of gift certificates, Martinsburg Site. and Missy Birchfield, State Farm insurance agent, for her donation of 65 food boxes. We would like to give our appreciation to all of the volunteers, including Man and Logan High school cheerleaders, Mingo- Logan Kids New View, Child Advocacy Center, CHS board members, among so many others. Lastly, all of those who sponsored a child, without your generosity, we could not have been able to provide a brighter Christmas for 119 children and 45 families from Boone, Logan, and Mingo Counties

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We also received an outpouring of donations from more than 40 individuals, families, agencies, and other community partners. At Christmas time, we were able to provide gifts for approximately 200 children between all the programs in Martinsburg, as well as a few families in our community that reached out for support.

Berkeley County Hollywood Casino JJ Bags Dispatch

13 www.childhswv.org www.childhswv.org 14

...In Martinsburg Continued ...In Morgantown

The pandemic meant that we would have to cancel our annual Breakfast with Santa, or we would need to Christmas is a time filled with laughter, love, joy, and hope. While Christmas get very creative. This event is near and dear to the hearts of Martinsburg staff and families so we decided looked a lot different in 2020, the Morgantown Site made sure laughter, love, we needed to move forward with our first “Walkthrough Breakfast with Santa.” We set up stations inside a joy and hope could be present for many children and families. local church: ornaments to decorate, books, Santa and his elves, and grab and go breakfast. We limited one family per station, enforced staff PPE, and put on our happiest holiday faces!

The Morgantown Crew were competitive with the 2020 Little Red Stocking Campaign. Through generous donations in our community, CHS was able to hold contests between staff to help promote the campaign and raise awareness for our permanency programs. We extend a huge thank you to Tuscan Sun Spa for allowing us to participate in their Facebook Live Christmas event to promote the campaign and talk about our services. A huge thank you to all our community partners for the Little Red Stocking Campaign. A list of partners can be found on our Morgantown CHS Facebook Page! (Children’s Home Society - Morgantown Site)

Our Christmas party looked quite different this year. On December 12, 2020 the Morgantown Staff with the Santa arrived with our local Bikers Against Child help of Quota International and the Star City Volunteer Abuse chapter. Fire Department provided a COVID style, drive thru, Christmas Party for our families and local children throughout the community. Staff decorated the trunks of their cars and handed out CHS Swag, Christmas movies, popcorn, hot chocolate kits, and a special gift from Santa. The ladies from Quota provided snack bags with gift cards, toys, and cookies. Through a generous community member donation, each CHS child who attended the Christmas party was also provided a Our Healthy Grandfamilies program also hosted an online stocking decoration contest. (Winners below) children’s book.

We are grateful for receiving Par Mar Funds to provide Christmas to our families within our community. Funds were utilized to provide Christmas gifts to foster children, warm clothing, and food to 75 children and families in North Central West Virginia.

The Morgantown staff are thankful for the continued commitment and support from our local communities. We wish you all a happy and healthy 2021!

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...In Northfork ...In Northfork Continued

December was a very busy and exciting month at the Forever Families Resource In September of 2020, Mike Day with Cleveland Cliffs Princeton Mining hosted a Christmas fundraiser, Center. Christmas was approaching soon, so many referrals and calls were amidst COVID-19 restrictions, that proved amazingly successful! We raised $46,276 while keeping socially received daily for assistance with Christmas. distanced, and safe! Deliverance Temple Church Volunteers wrapped hundreds of gifts over several days in their church gymnasium, socially distanced. We served 553 children and 215 families at our Coal Country The Center received monetary donations from The Ethel Bowen Foundation Christmas event on December 9th. We hosted a drive-thru style gift pickup, and had Santa waving at the totaling $3,000 and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority totaling $200. children. This year, the gifts were needed more than ever before and families were so appreciative. Without Mike Day and his dedicated crew, Christmas wouldn’t have been so bright this year; the year it was needed The Snyder Foundation made a $1,500 donation that consisted of: coats, backpacks, hygiene products, most. We thank Mike Day so much for working so hard to make this possible in the midst of a pandemic- socks, underwear, toys and food items. The Blessing Box is utilized regularly and is also stocked weekly which he refused to let stop him! from donations supplied by the Foundation.

Princeton Church of God sponsored 80 children for Christmas. Church members purchased and wrapped the items for Christmas. Gifts were distributed during Coal Country Christmas.

The West Virginia Council of Churches donated $2,000. Funds were used to purchase items for two families that were relative placements. Purchased items included: beds and mattress sets, toddler bed, coats, boots and other items. This donation served 2 families with 9 children.

The Forever Families Center would like to thank the following businesses for supporting our Annual Little Red Stocking Campaign and raising a combined total of $963:

Goodson’s Supermarkets, located in Welch, Pineville and Oceana. Store managers; Steve Ford, Tony Akers and Ron Harvey.

Hoppy Horn, Owner of Bantam Market in Welch.

Paul Moore, owner of The Dawg House.

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...In Parkersburg ...In Parkersburg Continued

Ho, Ho, Ho and a very Merry Christmas to everyone from the Parkersburg The elves from our Afterschool program worked incredibly hard to take the Site where we have just finished a very exciting and hectic holiday season. calls, sort through the Facebook messages, fill the wish lists and bag up the We of course had to find new and creative ways to provide for the multitude toys for distribution. This was no small task at all. Staff assisted 166 families of needs we encounter during this time. As we are all aware the pandemic for a total of 467 children in receiving Christmas gifts this year. An especially has introduced a new wrinkle in how we normally approach service delivery. difficult population to fill lists were the teen populations and we worked hard We have been so very humbled by and appreciative of all our generous to do what we could to serve teens through our donations and Par Mar funds. donors this year. In addition, 11 children of the Jefferson Afterschool Program received gifts of Our season started off with a bang by a wonderful donation from the employees at books, socks, small toys, and gingerbread houses. Dupont Washington Works. For many years the employees have collected coats, gloves, and hats to make sure children in our community stay warm, and this year We weren’t the only ones who had to change how they did business this Christmas was no exception. 284 coats and over 200 pairs of gloves were delivered by a few season. Zac and Tara Campbell, one of our adoptive families, has celebrated their employees. They out did themselves this year and we were thrilled to be able to daughters’ birthdays by doing a canned food drive for the food pantry but due to the distribute them to not only children in our programs but children in the community. pandemic they donated $2,000 instead and we are very thankful they continued to think of us. We were also the recipients again this year of the Books A Million Christmas drive. Over the period of 6 weeks the store would ask customers if they would like to make and extra purchase and that extra purchase would be donated to Children’s Home Society. Staff picked up the donations weekly and we soon filled our conference room with over $5,500 of books and other donations. These were shared among our programs for Christmas as well with the community. Another local organization also had to change their plans. Mission Hope normally goes on overseas mission trips and since they were not able to this year they We began receiving enquiries about Christmas help in the weeks leading up to made donations to other non-profits and we were blessed to receive $1,000 from Thanksgiving and at that time began taking names and letting them know that we them. TLC In-home Services normally holds a Christmas party and collects toys for would be distributing gifts from donations the second week of December. We were us but this year they accepted donated toys and when they dropped them off they faced with a dilemma in trying to figure out how we were going to be able to distribute presented us with a check to be used for anything we needed. the donations to the community since our traditional way of allowing the public to come into our building and “shop” was not going to be possible this year. So after putting our heads together and speaking with Lisa Weaver and her Afterschool staff it was A group of local business men and women calling themselves the Secret Santas have been faithful year decided we would have an Elf Line where all the calls would be routed and the staff after year to donate money that is used to provide Christmas to children and families in our programs. would take down Christmas wish lists and then go through our donations to match items with the lists. The This year was no different. The Santas were not able to have their holiday dinner where they collect the staff were so enthusiastic and excited to do this great task. funds to send into us due to the pandemic. So each Santa sent in a check and the Santas came through very generously with $8,550. The checks kept coming and we kept blessing others with their generosity. The staff were also tasked with sorting through the multitude of donations and organizing them for easy picking. To say we were blessed with donations is an With the funds raised we supported children and families in several of our programs. Our Safe at Home incredible understatement. We were contacted initially by the local National program works with at risk youth in a seven county area with the bulk of the families in Wood county. Guard asking if we would accept donations they had collected that were to be These families include grand families and kinship families who are raising children used for their individual guard unit Christmas parties that were cancelled. We, who are not their own on a fixed budget most of the time. This has become an of course, gladly accepted. We were overwhelmed by 34 boxes containing over increasingly big issue for many of our children. We were able to provide food, 2,700 toys and items from the Dollar Tree stores. Next we were contacted by the presents, shoes, and other clothes to 19 families for a total of 30 children and United Way and asked if we would accept toy donations from a local church, we youth. We were also able to help support Holiday Christmas boxes for another accepted several carloads of boxes. Then the Salvation Army called to say they had finished their Angel 42 teens with hygiene products, books, and games. These teens are very much Tree distribution and had extra toys and wanted us to have them. We picked up nine carloads of toys and underserved in general and especially at Christmas time. One teen requested a bikes. We were swimming in toys and more were coming as we then received hotel stay so his mom could have a vacation. He had never stayed at a hotel and our annual donation from the Justice Riders Motorcycle Club. They brought thought it would be a nice treat for his mom. So we rented a room at a local hotel about ten large bags full of toys and three bikes, along with gift cards totaling with an indoor pool so they could relax and enjoy being pampered a little. This $500. Lastly we were contacted by the Marines with the Toys for Tots program was an excellent bonding time for them. and they donated their extra toys they had collected.

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...In Parkersburg Continued ...In Parkersburg Continued

The residents of the Arthur N. Gustke Child Shelter had a very Merry Christmas. Parents as Teachers provided a Christmas themed book and pajamas to each child of The Knights of Columbus continued their annual support to the residents for enrolled families for a total of 13 families and 24 children served. In addition to the items Christmas morning gifts. While they were unable to complete their typical provided above, each family received 1 roll of wrapping paper per child, 1 gift bag per fundraising efforts throughout the year due to the pandemic they still had many child, and 1 roll of tape. These parents were very grateful for the books and provided us people in the community donate so that they could buy individualized gifts that with pictures of them reading the books to the children. the residents requested. Also, they donated $800 in Amazon cards to be used for future residents needs throughout the year.

Kelsey Cline, shelter social worker, had her annual Christmas party for the residents at her church, Emmanuel Baptist. There were many individuals making All 31 of our Right from the Start families received a gift bag with an aroma candle and an contributions to the party donating games, blankets, journals, art sets, tie dye kits, infant book. These mothers appreciated being included and receiving a little pampering socks, bracelets, balls, and much more. The Wood County Bar Association also as well. We identified six families in particular who were struggling with food insecurity donated many gifts for the Christmas party which amounted to over $1000. The issues. These families received large Christmas dinners, groceries, and household WV Credit Union donated $200 for the party as well. goods for a total of 26 individuals served. Another family received baby hygiene items of diapers and wipes. The workers who dropped off these items reported these families The North Hills Home Association held a stuff the truck event and had donors in were very appreciative and some were very emotional breaking down in tears being the neighborhood fill it with all types of donations in the amount of $2800. There able to have a nice Christmas dinner for everyone. Another mother residing in a local were pajamas, socks and underwear, shoes, hats and gloves, cards, games and homeless shelter asked for a card with minutes for her cellphone so she could speak to much more. her family. Janie Ott, a teacher from Parkersburg High School gathered donations from the And lastly our Transitional Living Program was able to provide 27 complete meal kits and groceries to 27 community to buy new TVs for the shelter so the residents are able to play our different young adults in our program. We were also able to provide small Christmas presents to each client and gaming systems in the recreation room. to their children as well for a total served of 32 individuals. This population has really been hit hard by the pandemic and trying to find and keep employment has been challenging. Our staff have worked diligently Williamstown Bank donated $100 so that we could rent out Skate Country. They also to help meet these young adults need and support them through this time. donated mugs with hot chocolate, candy and cookie mixes. The residents thoroughly enjoyed the outing and had a blast skating. So if you are keeping track that is a total of 179 children and families served. We are so very grateful for their continued support and trust in our ability to provide for these needs. Lisa Win and family donated three purchased meals to the shelter throughout the holiday During this holiday season we were able to put hands and feet to this donation and reach a and dropped off some gifts on Christmas Day. We received several monetary donations from different large population of children and families who otherwise would not have been able to afford organizations in the community. All of the residents were well taken care of and enjoyed the holiday. these things.

Our Permanency program was gifted $2500 to provide Christmas to our children and families through the PM Company’s annual Spirit of Giving fund. Other donors included Parents as Teachers program had four separate families “adopted” by outside Community Bank, Kasie Windom, Frontier Communications Operator Services, CWA community members. Each family created a wish list for their children and the donors Local 2009, and Scot’s Landscaping. With this funds and donations our Permanency Staff along with Mrs. more than filled their wishes. These donors included employees from the Cityof Claus were able to shop and deliver gifts for 80 children this Christmas. We were also able to provide hams, Parkersburg who were so thrilled to be able to shop for their list and expressed the poinsettias, and gift cards to our foster families. Our families were very thankful for these provisions and the desire to help again next year. Three families in Jackson County were beneficiaries of children were especially excited to see Mrs. Claus and her “elves” arriving to make deliveries. the Par Mar funds and received funds to purchase Christmas dinner.

The Permanency staff were also able to purchase coats for our foster children with We again were the recipients of the Robert E. Fouss Memorial Fund through the a donation from Aetna. The foster children were very excited to have new coats. Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. This is a fund in memory of Mr. Fouss who was a local businessman who owned a shoe store. His wish was that the funds The Permanency staff want to thank the staff of Community Bank for their generosity. be used to provide shoes to children. We were able to purchase 20 pairs of shoes The staff at their four branches adopted four of our foster families and purchased with these funds for children and youth in our Transitional Living Program, Parents as items for their biological children as well as their foster children. The staff were very Teachers Program, Afterschool Program, and Right from the Start Program. These kind and generous to our families and we are very grateful. families were touched that they were gifted such an essential item.

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...In Parkersburg Continued ...In Princeton Continued

The funds received from Par Mar allowed us to provide for children and families The months leading up to December were especially busy for our WECAN coordinators. Unfortunately, across eight counties. We served grand families in three of the counties including we weren’t able to host our annual “wrapping parties” due to COVID, but one church family became two in Tyler County where they had just gotten custody of their grandchildren the ultimate heroes! The wonderful congregation at Deliverance Temple Church in Princeton, wrapped and needed a total of three beds and bedding. Families in Jackson and Mason $45,000 worth of Christmas presents for 553 children in McDowell County for Coal Country Christmas! Counties were recipients of food for Christmas. Three teen families were helped Then like a modern-day Santa Claus and his reindeer, two days before Coal Country Christmas, members with Christmas in Wood and Pleasants Counties. Shoes and other necessities were of Deliverance Temple Church, loaded up five large trucks and two trailers and delivered the gifts to the provided for teens in Ritchie, Doddridge, and Gilmer counties. Forever Families Center to be distributed via drive through on December 9th.

In November, just before Thanksgiving our staff was asked to participate in an invitation only non-profit Christmas tree decorating contest by the United Way. We had a wonderful time decorating our tree with the theme of Holiday Wishes with Gingerbread Hugs and Peppermint Kisses. We decorated our tree with homemade gingerbread ornaments and many peppermint candies. While we did not win we had an excellent teambuilding time decorating. We also included a Little Red Stocking ornament and a card explaining its significance. We wanted to make sure our message was not lost in all the holiday happenings.

In addition to all the wonderful donors mentioned above we had so many more individual donors that are just as special and dear to us.

As you can see the Parkersburg Site has been more than blessed this Christmas season and we worked very hard to in turn bless others. It was our honor to bring some light and love in such a year as we have just experienced. In addition to the Coal Country Christmas in McDowell County on December 9th, Princeton received wonderful donations for our CHS kids. ...In Princeton

Much like everywhere, the holiday season was a little different for the Princeton Site. We weren’t going to let a pandemic hinder our Christmas joy and instead, made the On December 16th, our Mercer County WECAN held a No Contact Christmas Drive-Through for 58 most of this pandemic Christmas with the support of our wonderful community! children in Mercer County. This wouldn’t have been possible without the kind hearts of Lifeline Church of God. Lifeline sponsored 137 total children in Mercer and McDowell Counties.

First things first, we were able to carry on our annual Staff Christmas Party (albeit sans party) tradition of choosing a family in the community to purchase gifts for. This year our site chose two families. After tragedy struck with the sudden passing of one of our former adoptive dads, our site rallied around this family and provided them with Christmas gifts and gift cards. Although it’ll never undo their pain, we wanted to provide them with some joy over the holidays. After all, they will forever be part of our CHS family. The other family our site chose to celebrate was another successful reunification! This family received their gifts during our Princeton No Contact Christmas Drive-Through, on December 16th.

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...In Princeton Continued ...In Romney

We would like to thank the Sacred Heart Catholic Church youth group who provided Christmas for our CHS kids! The year of 2020 has been a difficult one for everyone who has been dealing with the pandemic. In spite of this difficult year, the Romney Site has been so extraordinarily blessed during this Christmas season. We cannot thank our community partners enough for their caring and compassion even when its been such a hard year!

Because of our wonderful volunteers in our community, our very active advisory council and staff, we were able to provide Christmas for a total of 106 children in the Mineral and Hampshire county area. 73 children ages new born to teenagers were able to feel loved and cared for during the Christmas season in Mineral County, and 33 children in Hampshire County. We were also able to provide We would like to thank the following for making Christmas brighter for our foster children: Christmas dinner to a kinship family. • Bluefield High School National Honor Society - Lots and Lots of toys. CHS wishes to thank the following individuals and groups for their participation • Kirkland and Branson Photography - Christmas toys galore. in the 2020 Angel Tree Project in both Hampshire and Mineral Counties: • Mercer County Board of Education, Human Resource Department - Toys for all the girls and boys. • Dollar General on Stafford Drive and Green Valley - Boxes and bags of toys and goodies. Adam and Tawni Arthur and family, Craig and Crystal Armentrout and family, Jamie and Laura Biser, Jim and Judy Biser, Mike and Peggy Biser, Burlington Cafe, Judy Butts, Colby and Bethany Chapell, Sherry Coleman, Dr. James and Dinah Courrier, Jay and Laura Courrier, Randy and Samantha Crites, Anton and Thank you Books-A-Million for donating 20 totes Sallie Daub, Dawnview Nursing Home, Tony and Marie Delsignore, the Desantis family, Angela Devlin, full of books, toys and games. Bruce and Michelle Devine, Frank and LuAnn Durst and family, Christian and Kelsey Ernst, Jeanette Ferris, First Rate Plumbing, Pam Francis, Joel and Skylar Franz, Janie Gilbert, Skip and Shirley Hackworth, Hampshire Center, Bob and Phyllis Harman, Rick and Wendy High and family, Gini and Sally Johnson, Gary and Libby Kalbaugh, Sheila Keister, staff at Knippenburg Insurance, the Lear family, Life Science Club at Potomac State College, Linda Marsh, Tessa McBride, Dale and Amanda Miller, Terri Morris, Hector and Lori Nieves, Jonathan and Melissa Nelson, Jane O’Donnell, Cara Powell, Alonna Ray, Rees Chapel United Methodist Church, Tom and Ruth Rowan, Romney Ruritan Club, David and Denise Shreve, Heidi Schmidt, Cline and Susan Slaubaugh, Randy and Dolly Swick, the Taylor family, Trinity Family Health Care, George and Donna Wilkinson, Randy and Robin Wright, and Laura Yost.

Thank you each so much for your kindness and generosity during the 2020 Christmas season! We look At a time when many thought they wouldn’t have a Christmas at all, the gentlemen at Cleveland Cliffs forward to working with each of you again in 2021. raised over $45,000 for Christmas for McDowell families! The folks at Cleveland Cliffs are truly angels among us and the entire drive-through event would not have been possible without them and Becky Helen Cullen, Advisory Council Member for the past 5 years and head of Brown, Lindsey Short, Kristin Kelly, Yolanda Smith, Tina Williams, Jenna Miller, and Lifeline Church of the Helen’s Angels, Angel Tree Project in Mineral County, passed away very God. suddenly just before the angel gifts were to be distributed to the Mineral County children this year. Her adult life was spent making a difference in the lives of children and youth. She was an active member of our advisory council and helped tremendously with our annual Little Red Stocking Campaign for several years. She resided at Potomac Heights Apartments in Keyser, WV and her apartment complex sold 150 little red stockings this year. Helen, you are so very missed by us all!

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...In Romney Continued ...In Romney Continued

Our 2020 Little Red Stocking campaign was hugely successful this year. Patterson’s Creek Liberty Because of the generosity of PAR MAR in Randolph and Pendleton Counties, Station in Petersburg, WV, raised the most money this year, having raised $3,535.00. Rio Liberty Station we were able to provide a nice Christmas for several needy children from those in Rio, WV, came in second place, having raised $3,430.00. Burger King in Keyser, WV raised 565.00, counties again this year. We thank PAR MAR for allowing us the opportunity to coming in third place. Each of these stores and their top salespeople will receive trophies and plaques provide Christmas presents to these precious children. to say thank you for all they did during this campaign. A Plus Heating and Air made a sizable donation to the campaign again this year.

Our Romney site was able to provide a bright Christmas for a total of 170 children this year in Mineral, Hampshire and Pendleton Counties. We could not have done so without our community partners! We cannot thank each of you enough for your kindness and generosity.

We would like to thank Mrs. Grapes for again donating a live Christmas tree and a case of apples for our shelter. You are so very kind and generous.

Thank you to the following organizations for providing a wonderful Christmas for our shelter: Rio Liberty Bloomery Presbyterian Church made a very generous monetary donation, Patterson Creek Station Capon Bridge UMW made a very generous monetary donation. Christ Liberty Station Community Church donated ten 50.00 Wal-Mart gift cards. Danville Community Baptist Church provided a pizza party and 11 gift bags full of hoodies, adult coloring books, blankets and books for our shelter residents, In addition to these businesses, please see the list of all partners in this campaign. We really appreciate along with a generous monetary donation. Faith Mission Church made two everyone’s efforts to help us raise money and awareness of the services we provide to our local children. very generous cash donations along with games, puzzles and ten gift cards. The First Baptist Church of Many thanks to the following businesses, organizations and individuals who helped make this campaign Romney donated 10 gift cards. FNB Bank in Romney donated candy. The General Federation of Women so successful: in Romney, made a very generous monetary donation. Hampshire County Library in Romney donated arts and craft supplies. Hope Christian Church donated bags with a pillow and blanket and gift cards. Grace Evangelical Church donated 22 gift bags with personal hygiene items, blankets and Bibles. Our Lady of In Augusta, WV: In Burlington, WV: Grace Church donated clothing and made a very generous monetary contribution. St. Steven’s Episcopal McKee Funeral Home, L&M Market and Burlington Café, Burlington General Store Church donated 22 book bags loaded with personal hygiene items, clothing and books. Zion Church of White Oak Consignment Shop Christ and Salem United Methodist Women made very generous monetary contributions. In Canaan Valley WV: In Baker, WV: Grant County Bank We would like to thank all of the organizations that provided assistance this Holiday Season. Corner Mart

In Capon Bridge, WV: In Belaire, MD: A Plus Heating and Air, Greg’s Restaurant, Cozy Inn FNB Bank; Jill’s Barber Shop, Bank of Romney

In Berkeley Springs, WV: In Cresaptown, MD: J&S Pawn Shop Pit N Go, Shooters, Tips and Toes Too

In Bloomery, WV: The Smokin’ Market

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...In Romney Continued ...In Romney Continued

In Oakland MD: In Pottstown, PA: In Cumberland, MD: In Frostburg, WV: J&S Pawn Shop Seneca Distribution Kline’s Restaurant, Knippenberg Insurance, J&S Pawn Shop Wendy’s Restaurant, Pit N Go; Mason-Dixon In Old Fields, WV: In Ridgeley, WV: Insurance; Progressive Physical Therapy, In Keyser, WV: Old Fields Country Store Hage’s Market, J&S Pawn Shop, Super 8 Hotel Burger King, Sally Johnson and Gini Johnson, Ridgeley Distributor, William Shuck D&B Thrift, E&S Fabric, Fox’s Pizza, Grant In Paw Paw, WV: Jr. Memorial In Davis, WV: County Bank, Hair Depot, Helen Cullen, J&S Paw Paw Country Store Grant County Bank Pawn Shop, Keyser Inn, Markwood Funeral In Rio: Home, Nancy Hanks, Nu View Video Store, In Petersburg, WV: Rio General Store In Deep Lake WV: Pulmonary Associates, Queen’s Point Coffee, Dairy Queen, Family Traditions Restaurant, Shooter’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill Royal Restaurant, Oriole Club, Potomac G&L Berg Insurance, Grant County Bank, In Romney, WV: Heights Apartments, State Farm Insurance, Grove Street Station, Patterson Creek An anonymous donor, Bank of Romney, In Fort Ashby, WV: Signature Salon Liberty Station, Weaver’s Market Burger King, Carrie’s Visions of Beauty, FNB Bank, Wayne’s Meats, Gain’s Service Cruise Thru Drive Thru, Eastern Building Station, Fort Ashby VFW Supply, El Puente’s, FNB Bank, Hampshire In Piedmont, WV: County Library, Italian Touch, Lambert’s Duckies Bar and Grill Pharmancy, Main Street Grill, McKee Funeral Home, Mt. Top Restaurant, Northern Eagle, Pulmonary Associates, Shaffer Funeral Home, South Branch Inn

In Springfield, WV: In Winchester, VA: Bank of Romney, Springfield Sunoco A Touch of Italy, Jo Gail’s Country Cookin’ , Sunnyside Café In Westernport, MD: Fair Price Market, Fox’s Pizza,

Knippenberg Romney Insurance Ruritans This 2020 Little Red Stocking campaign was extremely successful. In addition to thanking all of our Little Red Stocking partners, we wish to thank our communities for purchasing our stockings! The campaign would not have been so successful without community support! We look forward to working with each of In Lonaconing, MD In Morgantown WV: you again during the 2021 campaign. Pit N Go J&S Pawn Shop

In Maysville, WV: In Mt. Jackson, VA: Galen’s Country Store Hoitzman Oil Corporation

In Martinsburg, WV: In New Creek, WV: J&S Pawn In-Style Hair Salon

In Moorefield, WV: American Woodmark Foundation, Baby Blue Smoke Pit Barbecue, Grant County Bank, O’Neill’s Restaurant, South Branch Station, South Fork Pharmacy, Main Event

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...In Summersville ...In Wheeling

The residents of the Kathleen and John Faltis Child Shelter in Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were disheartened when we had Summersville had a very good Christmas in 2020. The citizens to cancel our annual foster care Christmas party for the children and of Nicholas and surrounding counties were very generous this families we serve. However, we found alternative ways to ensure that year. Christmas was extra special this year…

Several residents and businesses in Nicholas and surrounding counties donated many supplies needed by the children. Donations included: hygiene products, blankets, clothing, board games, card games, books, crafts and lots of candy and cookies. We received a small grant from Appalachian Power through the AEP Grant Foundation. We were able to purchase extra presents for all We would like to thank the following for donating to make the children’s Christmas of our foster and adoptive children and foster parents. a memorable one. Columbia Forest Products of Craigsville donated clothing and Walmart gift cards. Shepherd’s Chapel Church donated 10 McDonald’s gift cards. The Craigsville Christmas Store donated backpacks filled with school supplies, snacks, and hygiene products. Mr. Elijah Thompson of Summersville donated 10 Walmart gift cards worth $100 each as well as a prepaid Visa card worth $100 for us take the residents out for a meal. Santa even dropped off 9 Walmart gift cards worth $100 each. In addition to these gifts, several people donated candy, popcorn, books, games for the X-Box, an lots of other goodies.

Shirley’s Dolls (Darla DiNardo) donated an abundance of baby dolls and other Other donors included Mr. Virgil McMillion who donated $750, the Summersville Christmas Store donated toys for our foster children to make their Christmas even brighter for the holiday $450, the Rotary Club of Summersville donated $400, and Attorney; Harley Stollings, donated $200. season! This is the second year that Darla, her sisters, and family has donated to the Wheeling site for Christmas. The children had a wonderful Christmas morning. They enjoyed opening all their gifts and eating lots of food. The Kathleen and John Faltis staff would like to thank everyone who donated to make this year’s Christmas a very special one for our children.

The Summersville Permanency office would like to thank the following for their We were asked to make an Amazon Registry in lieu of an angel tree. support this Holiday Season. Aniston Hornsby of Summerville for her donation All 225 items were purchased! A special thank you to the Church of blankets. Justin Phillips of Summersville for the much needed baby stroller. of Christ in Proctor, WV (Nikki Stevens), Steptoe and Johnson Jordan’s Chappell Methodist Church in Canvas for donating pajama boxes PLLC, and our board member, Melissa Grimes, with helping to totaling $1,000. Doris Bostic of Nettie for her $200 contribution and Aetna make sure that every child’s wish came true this Christmas! Healthcare for their $732 contribution. We also want to thank all of the donors who purchased from the We would also like to thank Chemical Valley Crawlers for their donation of toys registry including Mike Grimes, J.C. and Nikki Stevens, Andreah totaling $500 and their cash contribution of $115. Frenn, Ashley Johns, Josh and Elissa Greathouse, Alana Parker, Jessica Pahl, Kara Dray, Amanda Oliver, Sarah Grosso, Kristen Andrews, William Wilmoth, Shenna, the McMahan family, Kimberly Loveless, Diana McKinney, Mollie Wade, Brendan, Jesse, Janet Cranston, Ashley Fletcher, Ashley Goddard, Denise Coss, Paul Linder and other donors who wish to remain anonymous.

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...In Wheeling Continued 2020 Little Red Stocking Campaign

Children’s Home Society would like to thank all the businesses who made this years campaign a success. Wheeling Permanency Staff and our Board Member, Missy Grimes, delivered presents to our local foster We would like to thank Self Love Cookie Company, for creating and selling wonderful cookies throughout homes, elf style! the campaign. We would also like to thank everyone who registered and donated to the 5k Little Red Run.

The Children’s Home Society would like to send a very special THANK YOU, to the Oil Marketers and Grocers Association and their members. Gomart participated in the Little Red Stocking campaign raising $14,835. ROCS also participated raising $7,806. CHS partnered with Par Mar for their Wednesday Wish Giving Campaign that raised $8,125.16. Our staff provided over $8,000 worth of toys to hundreds of children statewide. OMEGA members combined raised $30,766.16 statewide for West Virginia’s children. They are truly Champions For Children.

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