Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Cheryl Campbell had an idea in 2009 – to use the her annual holiday party to collect donations for seniors who are low-income and in need of help.
Fueled by a chance encounter with a 92-year-old woman at a local store, Campbell collected socks, toiletries, furniture and what ever else local seniors in need asked for. Year after year, her effort to fulfill request from seniors across Bucks County, mostly in Lower Bucks County, has grown. The request is so great that her nonprofit – The Christmas Gala Inc. – has had to open its own office and storage place on Radcliffe Street in Bristol Borough.
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Campbell and her dedicated group of volunteers spend the majority of their holiday season collecting gifts to fill more than 800 request for assistance from Bucks County’s aging population.
“They’re not extravagant requests,” Campbell told LevittownNow.com. “They’re for socks, food, pants – basic things.”
The volunteers efforts also go toward helping the elderly throughout the rest of the year.
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The Christmas Gala’s biggest donation drive comes from the various angel trees set up at businesses and other facilities through Bucks County. Campbell said what started as a few trees in the Levittown-area has grown to being featured at banks and businesses as far north as Quakertown.
When taking a request from the Angel Tree, the person who takes it can fulfill the request and return it to the original location where they picked out the request. Volunteers from The Christmas Gala will come and collect the requests, taking them back to Bristol to prepare them for delivery.
Credit: The Christmas Gala
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Working in every room of the office and for hours at a time, Campbell and her merry volunteers spend their time through Christmas fulfilling the wishes of needy seniors.
“What I really want is seniors to be able to open a gift on Christmas,” Campbell said.
The large undertaking takes up almost all of Campbell’s free time, which she says her family is understanding of during the holiday. Aside from her job with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, her time is spend receiving requests, collecting donations from an ever-growing network of Angel Trees and working to make sure enough financial donations are coming in to help
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“I have a lady right now who needs money to get her car fixed. It’s just not there in the account,” she said. “I try to help everyone I can.”
Throughout the year, The Christmas Gala fulfills emergency needs for several seniors per week through its emergency aid program. The program helps seniors who need dental care, eye glasses, new fans, radios for entertainment and other items many take for granted.
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Campbell said her biggest challenge is to help fulfill all the requests during the holidays and the rest of the year with the Christmas Gala devoting nearly all its funds to helping seniors; there are no paid employees.
From the Angel Tree program to word of mouth to referrals from social workers and senior centers, help is always needed.
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Throughout the year, The Christmas Gala holds events to fund their program and low-overhead operation. The seventh annual Christmas Gala is set for next weekend in Fairless Hills and tickets are currently for sale.
To make a donation to The Christmas Gala or to see where Angel Trees are located, click here.
