In the 1990s, Parker’s Southeast Christian Church began collecting food and gifts for those in need. That group has now grown hugely and has become its own entity, SECORCares. SECORCares continues their Christmas Outreach Program, but they have changed some things. The original holiday program collected various donated items. The items were taken by volunteers to families around the community. The distribution process took many hours, and particularly fathers of families in need were not often involved in receiving the donations.
Dennis Gorton, CEO/Executive Director, and Amy Pfister, Development Coordinator, emotionally describe the shift to a new way of running the program and the way it has affected families. SECORCares partners with churches and agencies to learn about the gift requests from families in need of help.
After learning the specific requests of families, SECORCares creates a red gift tag for each child, describing their Christmas list for a $50 amount. This method ensures that each child’s individual needs are served. The tags are hung on Christmas trees in the lobby of the Solomon Centre and members of the community can come choose a child’s tag, for whom they will shop and donate items. The donated items are wrapped by volunteers and prepared for each child. The 2000 seats in the Solomon Centre’s auditorium are filled with prepared packages until the child’s family comes to pick up the items. This allows the parents to give the donated gifts to their child in any way they choose.
Dennis shared how this way of giving has really empowered parents to feel more involved in the process. The Christmas Outreach Program is a sweet and rewarding program of which to be a part. Each year SECORCares and the community provide gifts to 1600 children. Come join this heartwarming cause by picking up a gift tag or volunteering! Learn more at secorcares.com.