Throughout the year, the district’s Family Resource Center works to meet the needs of our students and their families. From parenting information to assistance with clothing and food, this center provides the necessary support to help students succeed. The Family Resource Center is comprised of three people: Olivia Britton, coordinator; Ashley Hicks, secretary; Abby VanMeter, coordinator. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of these women in serving the children of Woodford County.
Leading up to the holiday season, Olivia, Ashley, and Abby begin preparations for Community Christmas, which is the Family Resource Center’s event for providing gifts, toys, and clothes for children at Christmastime. Members of the Woodford County community, churches, and school staff volunteer to sponsor children for the event. We are thrilled to report that sponsors provided 432 children with gifts, toys, and clothes this holiday season. In addition to the presents that the children receive, each family is given a bag of non-perishable food items. The food bags are funded by a donation from the Masons of Woodford County; we are thankful for the opportunity to extend Community Christmas to include food, as well.
The Family Resource Center staff are extremely appreciative of the efforts of the community. Abby VanMeter says, “The sponsors will get kids taken care of and then ask for more.” In fact, up until the day before the event, Abby says that people were contacting the center to see if more children needed sponsoring. This kind of enthusiasm really shows the heart of our community members.
A special addition to Community Christmas this year was a donation of 100 baby dolls. These dolls were provided by Karen’s Christmas Baby Dolls, a foundation in honor of Karen Wilson, who passed away this fall. Ambrose Wilson, Karen’s husband, explains how this initiative came to be. He says, “Having a baby doll was important to Karen. She wanted to be sure that children who may not get a baby doll had one.” In later years, when asked what she wanted for Christmas, Karen would always say that she wanted a baby doll; her intentions were simply so that she could give it away to a child. “With Karen, this was personal because it hurt her to think about a little girl not having a doll,” Mr. Wilson explains.
When Karen was a young girl, she had a baby doll that she dearly loved. It is evident that as Karen became an adult, she recognized the valuable lessons that caring for her childhood doll added to her life. Each child may gain their own unique lesson from their favorite toy, but loving a doll certainly provides the opportunity for them to learn how to take care of someone or something else and how to respect and appreciate their belongings. It is also such a joy for a young girl to bring her cherished baby doll with her to the grocery, the library, the park, or any place she’s able to include the doll. Cindy Wilson Smithers, daughter of Karen and Ambrose, reminisces about her own childhood baby doll, which was named Sweet Dreams. “I took it on vacations with us...I still have it!” Karen longed for all children to have these experiences.
It is now the mission of Karen’s Christmas Baby Dolls to ensure that as many children as possible can know the happiness of owning their own doll. Through this effort, Mr. Wilson says, "Not only is Karen giving them the gift of a doll, but in many occasions, she is giving the gift of a friend." Ambrose and Cindy have shopped all around Central Kentucky for these new friends for children to have this Christmas season. Mr. Wilson remarks, “It keeps her memory alive. It honors her. The baby dolls are because of Karen, not Cindy and me. It’s because of Karen.”
Since this mission was such a cry of Karen’s heart, Mr. Wilson adds, “This is not a one and done. We’re going to keep doing this; we’re hopeful that it will grow, and we can reach more girls...Karen was laser focused on the possibility of some child not having a baby doll. She wanted to be sure she could, as much as humanly possible, find someone who may not have a baby doll and get one to them. Our Family Resource Coordinators are very good about getting things where they need to go.”
With these beautiful baby dolls and the generous donations of everyone who sponsored a child for Community Christmas, the Family Resource Center was able to ensure that hundreds of children across our county will have gifts and clothes to open on Christmas morning and to enjoy for years to come. We would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Community Christmas by sponsoring children. Additionally, thank you to Ambrose, Cindy, and the entire Wilson family for remembering Karen in this special way. Lastly, thank you to our Family Resource Center staff for your hard work and dedication in coordinating Community Christmas.
To the entire Woodford County community, we wish you a very happy, holiday season!
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