Children receive gifts during the annual Christmas party hosted by the Tioga County Open Door Mission and The Red Door thanks to generous donations. The Mission partnered with the Owego Elks, Marine Corps Toys For Tots, and local Boy and Girl Scout Troops.
The Tioga County Open Door Mission and The Red Door are thankful to all who helped make their busy holiday season such a success. This year has been hectic, but as always, amazingly rewarding.
They began the holiday season with their holiday food basket giveaway in Owego, as well as Waverly to help every family have a wonderful meal this holiday. They are thankful to the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation for helping financially support this resource in our community.
The Open Door Mission strongly believes that every child deserves to enjoy a gift for Christmas, and they do all that they can to make that a reality. In addition, each year the Mission holds gift giveaways at both their Owego and Waverly locations for local families in need.
For many years the Mission has been fortunate enough to partner with the Owego Elks, Marine Corps Toys For Tots, and local Boy and Girl Scout Troops to hold their Children’s Christmas party in Owego. This year due to generous donations, they were able to give away over 200 gifts at the event.
In addition to the Owego party, The Red Door’s Waverly location attended Tinsel-n-Lights in Waverly. No matter how cold it may be outside, they love giving out gifts from their truck at this community event. This year they gave out over 400 gifts to Waverly children.
In addition to the parties, the Mission also gave out another 200 gifts through their “Employee Adopt a Family” program, and assisted Lockheed Martin in Owego with their adopt a family program. This year they were able to drive to a number of rural communities, and give out additional gifts from the back of their truck.
They were excited to expand their outreach to communities that are often overlooked. This idea was brought to them by one of their employees, and they look forward to making this a yearly tradition.
Thank you again to all that donated their time with wrapping gifts, and the many financial contributions that support the services the Open Door Mission and The Red Door offer.
To learn more about the Open Door Mission, located at 426 North Ave. In Owego, call (607) 687-1121. To reach The Red Door in Waverly, N.Y., call (607) 249-6062.
