‘Rain or shine, these families need it’: Volunteers help distribute gifts to nearly 1,900 kids

Nearly 1,900 local children will be getting Christmas gifts, thanks to the Salvation Army of Northeast Florida.

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“It’s just wonderful,” said Lanora Pope, whose granddaughters will be receiving gifts. “A lot of families don’t have a lot of money these days.”

The space that used to house a JCPenney store was converted into Santa’s workshop from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., all to make sure deserving families get a little holiday cheer this Christmas.

It’s all part of the Angel Tree program for kids ages up to 12 years old. Families in financial need registered their children’s Christmas wish list in October. Then, individuals, businesses and church groups “adopted” the children and purchased gifts to specifically match the age, needs and wishes of each child.

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This year, that included Pope’s two granddaughters.

“I just want them to have a nice Christmas, and I like to see their faces when they open it,” she said. “It always takes a village to raise families, so we all need to stick together in this community.”

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That village comprises volunteers like Patrick Tronnier and Beth Wolowicz. They donated their time to load these gifts into shopping carts and are personally delivering them to the families.

“It’s an attachment because you have the family names, you have the kid names, you have their ages, you have what they want,” Tronnier said. “Helping someone get the gifts that they want for the kids under the tree. I mean, there’s no better feeling in the world because it’s almost like they’re your own kids.”

“Hoping that we can make some families really happy,” Wolowicz said.

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And they’re not letting a little bad weather get in the way.

“Rain or shine, these families need it,” Wolowicz pointed out. “And we like doing it.”

If you’d like to donate to the Salvation Army of Northeast Florida, to contribute to events like this one, you can check out the organization’s website HERE.

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