Before our kids went home for Christmas break, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Appalachia celebrated the season and each one of our members with an epic Christmas event!

All four of our Clubs attended the event held at the Harlan Center, which kicked off with Elf Rene giving each child their own bell, sticker, and ticket. Once they had their ticket punched by the conductor, they entered a land filled with crafts, food, and fun!

Each child had their fill of an amazing Christmas ham dinner with all the fixings, followed by a hot chocolate bar and chocolate covered pretzels for dessert! After an amazing presentation of the beloved story book The Polar Express, by our friends at SCORE who were on hand to help out, it was time to watch the film!

We pulled a few strings, and although it was close to Christmas, we were able to get Santa Claus himself to take time to take a professional photograph with each and every one of our members! Not only did members take home this wonderful keepsake photo, they also were surprised with a gift from their wish list which they had written earlier at their Club!

Thank you to all of our wonderful staff, volunteers, donors, and sponsors who made this event possible. This year we had more kids than ever before and our membership keeps increasing. We are deeply grateful for everyone who made this event such a success and a joy for our children and youth. Merry Christmas!