Thousands get food and toys in Christmas Eve giveaway
OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok (KFOR) — Thousands of Oklahomans waited in line for a Christmas bundle of joy Sunday morning. It’s part of the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner Foundation. Since 1947, members of the Red Andrews family have given back during Christmastime.
What started as a small gathering in a house, turned into a large giveaway for the community over the years.
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“It’s fundraising, tax donations, it’s contacting donors to get donations of toys and coats, it’s working with a lot of different organizations,” said Mary Blankenship Pointer, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner Foundation.
Each car gets food for a Christmas dinner, new toys, and coats.
“It’s very helpful at this time, you know how bad it is out there at this time. It means a lot, this helps with everything,” said Eric Berg who received groceries and gifts.
Organizers said preparations leading up to the giveaway take about 12 months and include donations from Ride Oklahoma Charities.
“This year, through donations we have a total of 33 bicycles and we’ve delivered over 2,000 toys this morning,” said Skip Zabel, the President of Ride Oklahoma Charities.
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“It melts my heart. I mean, it’s wonderful. It’s such a delight to see these kids getting Christmas every year,” said Kevin Blake, the founder of Flag Poles Honoring Our Veterans.
Thousands of Oklahomans are getting a Christmas miracle this year, but the one thousand volunteers also get a treat with live music from Frank Barry.
“I do some music for them and you know take away some of the quietness from them and give a little spirit,” said Frank Barry, who’s been volunteering for years with the event.
As every car passes by, multiple toys are given out, and a family is gifted a Christmas wish.
“This is a blessing, they’re helping a lot of families out in this and they’re doing things for us that people don’t get to have,” said Ronny Holland who received groceries and gifts.
In addition to food and toys, the American Red Cross gave out information on their program to help install smoke detectors. If you missed the giveaway and want to learn more on scheduling a smoke alarm installation, email ksokprep@redcross.org.
To volunteer next year for the Red Andrews Christmas Dinner Foundation giveaway, go to their website.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
