LIMA — The bicycles were lined along the stage with care as several families gathered Friday at the Lima Public Library to celebrate a Christmas they might not have been able to otherwise.
The inaugural Family Christmas Party, put together by the Community Action Program and the Lima Junior City Council as part of the Ceasefire Lima initiative, brought more than 100 children, parents and caregivers together for cookies, presents and the chance to meet and get a gift from Santa Claus. They also had a chance to win a new bicycle.
Many of the families had few resources and faced a bleak Christmas, said organizer Vickie Shurelds.
“This is an exciting event for us,” she said. “At first, this started as doing something for the kids whose families had been changed because of all the violence that has taken place. But as we were talking, we realized that you can’t know how many people have been affected by all of this, so it then turned into doing a family community Christmas celebration.”
For Junior City Council member and South Middle School student Deoshanic Petaway, 14, having a festive family atmosphere hopefully gave these families the chance to make some happy memories this Christmas despite dealing with hard times.
“I’m hoping that everyone gets what they want and are happy,” she said. “We wanted to have this for people who are struggling, and we want people to be happy, so we thought this would be a good idea for something to do.”
Jason Kessler, 37, and his wife, Kalee, 23, brought their two daughters, Averyinna, 2, and Phoenix Jane, 1, to the event, grateful for the chance to give them a happier Christmas.
“It really helps us out,” Mr. Kessler said as the family sat in the back waiting for Santa. “It’s good to see everyone come together as a community, especially for what this town’s been through lately. This will sure help.”
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