The HCCF Community Service Committee recently completed another hugely successful Christmas Giving Tree campaign by making this Christmas season very special for 75 children from 27 families. The 2023 committee, chaired by Kathie Boccagna consists of 9 members including, Dottie Dsupin, Jean DeLardo, Sharon Jimenez, Marilyn Kosiorek, Pat Luchi, Kathy Malavenda, and Board members Ona Lee Swain and Patty Wegener.
The Christmas Giving Tree was decorated the Sunday after Thanksgiving on November 26th, with names of 75 needy children, supplied by the Social Services Department of North Port. The committee placed names, ages, and gift recommendations on each ornament. Each child had 3 ornaments on the tree for a total of 225 ornaments. An announcement was placed in the November Heron Creek G&CC newsletter, and the drive ran from November 26th to December 10th. Heron Creek residents and HC Country Club members retrieved ornament labels, purchased gifts and placed them beneath the tree throughout that period. Committee volunteers subsequently retrieved the gifts daily from under the tree and staged them at a home for preparation and delivery.
The community was very generous. All the tickets were taken from the tree, and we received an abundance of gifts, from toys to bikes (23 bikes) to clothing. Some donors chose to make a monetary contribution. On December 11th, committee volunteers met to wrap all of the gifts and deliver them to Social Services, who then distributed the presents to 27 families with 75 children.
Kudos to Kathie and her team of Community Service Committee volunteers as they continue a very popular and successful tradition in the spirit of giving at Heron Creek. The Annual Christmas Tree Giving Program epitomizes the HCCF mission of “working together to improve the quality of life for our North Port neighbors in need”.
