About 75-80 people attended our Holiday Gathering. Thanks to Ty & Joan Kuhns  and Bill & Susan Steel Preparations and their CHOA volunteer team the Country Club was beautifully decorated and everyone who attended had a wonderful time of socializing with their neighbors.   I have heard many comments  since the party that residents look forward to enjoy this party as one of the best of the year.

During our Holiday Gathering we again gave the opportunity for our residents to give to The Community Transitional School of Portland.  This year we raised $760.00 in cash and 45-50 gifts were delivered to the children.  The poster below is from the kids of CTS.

Excerpt from letter of thanks written by Principal and Lead Teacher, Cheryl Bickie:

While all of us feel at times that we are caught up in circumstances over which we have no control, many of our students are especially prone to see themselves as helpless victims in a world where they have few options and little or no opportunity to take control of their own lives.  It’s a belief that many of them inherit from their parents and one they will likely pass on to their own children.  Our mission is to prevent that, to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness they are caught in by helping them discover that they have the strength within themselves to change their lives and the support they need to set goals and achieve….

Hardly a day goes by that I am not mindful of your support and what it means.  For the past year or two I have begun walking to work whenever I can.  As the days grow shorter and colder, I am often the first to arrive and I see the building waiting dark and silent for the school day to begin.  Opening the door and stepping from the dark outside to the dark inside, I turn on the heat and lights, and it is often then that I think what a miracle it is that the place I am standing in was built by the kindness of thousands of people for the benefit of children most of them have never met and will never know.  Later, as the sky lightens and children pour from the buses and stream laughing and shouting into the school. I often reflect on how little they actually know about all the people who opened that door and keep it open every day……But we never forget that it is you who make it possible for us to be there, and we are grateful for all you do.

If you were unable to make it to the Gathering and would still like to contribute there are several ways to do so, please visit their webpage at:  http://www.transitionalschool.org/help/help.html

Special Thank You To The WHOLE CHOA TEAM who made this event special

Space does not allow me to post all the names of those who helped make this event special.  If you would like to comment on the wonderful time you had,  I will pass on your thanks to the team