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Parents searching for a way to get your children involved in the spirit of giving this holiday season, may want to be a part of Foster Angels of Hillsborough County, Inc.
Partnering with local entities such as The Osprey Observer, Village Inn on S.R. 60, Bloomingdale High School, Burns Middle School and Kids 'R' Kids, the organization seeks to provide 1,136 foster children with a Christmas gift each year.
The group's mission is that every child that has been separated from his or her family and placed in a foster home due to abuse, neglect or abandonment will be able to enjoy the holiday.
Foster Angels’ partners display Christmas trees decorated with paper angels. Each of the angels list the inscriptions of wishes from each foster child. Residents can then purchase gifts from lists that include such items as a DVD, a game, clothes, a gift card and so on. It is then requested that donors wrap the gifts, securely attach the angel somewhere on the package and revisit the facility where they picked the angel by December 18 for pickup.
The gifts are then transferred to more than 500 foster homes throughout Hillsborough County making their way into the hands of anxious foster children on Christmas day. "It's great to be a part of. I was raised taking part in it and now my children do it. It is the best lesson that I could have ever given them," states Foster Angels Director of Operations Stephanie MacNeel.
Started in 1988, the organization blossomed from Executive Director Melvin MacNeel Sr.'s desire to make sure "no child goes without at Christmas." A foster parent himself, MacNeel unexpectedly had a group of five children placed temporarily within the home two days before Christmas. After dividing their children's gifts, the family made sure each child had at least a few gifts.
"In life you can help a lot of people, but to help a child you are shaping a future, you are creating a spirit of giving that they carry on forever," Stephanie concludes.
The organization is currently seeking volunteers as well as a permanent warehouse facility in which to operate the program. To make a donation, write a check payable to Foster Angels of Hillsborough County, Inc., and send it to Foster Angels of Hillsborough County, Inc., PO Box 1392, Riverview, FL 33568-1392. For more information, call 677-7376.
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