One of the most heart-wrenching things during the Christmas season is to think of a child somewhere in our community who doesn’t have any presents to play with on Christmas morning. Many families in our area of southwest Georgia live at or below the poverty level. These families often struggle with getting the basics like food and shelter so many times Christmas presents just aren’t an option. Even if they do get something, it may be very little or it may be shared with siblings. The members of the Rotary Club of Pelham feel that by providing the children of these families with presents of their own, we can help make their lives a little bit better during a season where everyone deserves to be happy.

This is the most anticipated project of the year for our members and it really shows when we look at the huge pile of gifts we collect. Administrators at the local schools identify children who are in need. We then have the children come to one of our weekly meetings right before Christmas so Santa Clause can present them with their gifts.

It is very apparent from the looks on the children’s faces that these gifts have truly impacted their lives. It is not uncommon for some of the children to literally weep with joy (and not uncommon for some of our members to weep as well). It is hard to measure the impact that the simple act of giving a gift to a child in need will have but if their reactions are any indication, the impact is huge.