SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Fireman’s Association has teamed up with Pathways For Parents, Our Community Food Pantry and the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional Schools to make the holidays happier for local children in need.
On Sunday, the Association will host a Christmas party, complete with Santa and a few elves, and give out gifts to 59 children. The event will take place at the Southwick Fire Department and is set to include refreshments, crafts, and tours of the station.
Fireman’s Association members Brian Schneider and Jessica Bishop organized the event, which was the result of a successful Fireman’s Association Golf Tournament last spring.
“The tournament did very well and we had money we wanted to give back to the community somehow,” said Schneider. “We decided we wanted to help children in need and worked with the food pantry and schools to identify children – who remain anonymous to us – who could use presents.”
Children who receive free lunch at the schools and children whose families receive assistance from the food pantry and Pathways For Parents program were identified only by age and gender.
“One of the Association members bought all the gifts and had a wrapping party,” Schneider said.
Most of the children are elementary school age but some are as young as one and as old as 14.
“We didn’t want to limit the ages because if there was a family from the food pantry with an eight year-old, a 12 year-old and a 14 year-old, we didn’t want the younger children to receive a gift but not the teenager,” Schneider said.
The Southwick Fireman’s Association is a self-sustaining organizing separate from the fire department. Its mission includes raising funds to offset the cost of supplies for the department, as well as supporting the community.
