In Owego the party is held at the Elk lodge and was a great time as always. We are so thankful to the local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts that volunteered at the event on Saturday, we could not do the event without their help. This year we were lucky enough to offer free Christmas hair cuts at the event too. All of the children that attended received a Christmas gift, tons of food and treats, hats and mittens, face painting and of course a chance to talk with Santa. It was wonderful to see all the happy faces.
Our Waverly gift giveaway is always held at Tinsel-n-Lights. We always have a fun time decorating our Open Door Mission truck so we can give out Christmas gifts from the back of it at the event. For some reason the event always seems to fall on one of the coldest nights of the month so we were all doing our best to be bundled up, but the giveaway was a huge success. It was such a community event. There really was something magical about being all together with Christmas gifts in the snow and the beautiful lights.
Also this year we are so thankful to the employees of Lockheed Martin Owego that helped make one family's Christmas truly prefect. All of the employees at Lockheed Martin worked together to help a family in need from our Outreach Department get everything on their Christmas list. The mother of the family was overwhelmed by the amazing gifts and the caring spirit of those that gave them too her. Proving once again the unbelievable good will that can be done when a community comes together for the holidays. From the Tioga County Mission family to yours Merry Christmas everyone!