Holiday Gift Drive for Cortland County Children volunteers check-in donors' presents to Holiday Gift Drive for Cortland County Children on Wednesday at Bru 64 in Cortland. SARAH BULLOCK
For 200 Cortland County kids, Santa is coming a little early — December 20th.
Presents for pouring in and swapping a Christmas tree Wednesday night at Bru 64, collected during the holiday gift drive for Cortland County Children in need. A wooden toy train, baby dolls and a foam dart gun waited to be dispersed to children in foster care or identified as in Need by Department of Social Services and child attorneys.
Was started five years ago with about fifty children continues to grow as generous donors step up, said founder Katie Sullivan, an attorney with the attorneys for children office. The donors are paired anonymously with babies, children and teens, Sullivan said.
“People want to give back locally,” said Sullivan, adding all the recipients are County families.
As a child attorney with Citizens Concerned for Children Inc., Sullivan knows firsthand there are plenty of County Children facing significant challenges — everything from abuse and neglect, to custody battles, to poverty.
And these gifts bring a little bit of joy to children who might otherwise not have any gifts to unwrap this year.
And what an unwrapping it will be.
Santa's announced a special stop to distribute the gifts at a party December 20th held by DSS and sponsored by Heritage Realty.
“It's a nice treat for the foster families because they work so hard already,” Sullivan said. “My family and I always attend the party just to see the kids faces.”
Sullivan's family is far from the only clan getting in on the fun — several parents enlist their children to help with the shopping.
“It's like a learning moment for their kids,” Sullivan said. It's a chance to realize there are other children in their community that won't be able to open gifts otherwise, she added.
Christine Armstrong, of East Side Bakery, dropped off five presents she picked out with her son Asher, 10: gifts for two 12-year-old girls and three 6-year-old boys.
“He helped with the boy gifts,” Armstrong said. “I took care of the 12-year-old girls.”
Armstrong and Asher both enjoyed shopping for the children.
“It's great to be part of the community and help local kids,” she said
“And I have too much stuff at home,” Asher added.
The Armstrongs had just finished checking in their gifts with Sullivan's right-hand women: her mother Johanna Hartnett, her aunt Philly Brady and sister Patty Sweeney Morey. One of the best parts of the night for the trio is watching families like the Armstrongs take part and witnessing how the children are learning to give back.
“It's really special to see,” Brady said. The women also appreciate the sense of community the charity fosters.
Each year it just gets bigger said Sweeney Morey. Every Christmas there are more local children in need and more people who are willing to contribute, she said.
And if more people want to donate presents before the December 20th party, they can still participate if they email Sullivan at [email protected].
There’s still children who can be paired with donors, Sullivan said.
“We have all these kids in need now,” she said, “and there’ll be 10 more tomorrow.”
