Children were given the opportunity to submit wish lists with items they both needed and wanted for the Christmas season. H.E.R.O. received financial donations, in-kind gifts, and child sponsors to support this initiative. Sponsors agreed to 'adopt' a set amount of children, shop for their gifts, and deliver them to the H.E.R.O. office or have them picked up. Gifts for children in partner cities were shipped, delivered or collected from our headquarters. We facilitated two gift-wrapping parties at Northside Church in Roswell- one in late November and one in early December- during which hundreds of presents were prepared by numerous volunteers (Walgreens leading the pack in numbers!). H.E.R.O. hosted a holiday party on Saturday, December 15, 2018 at the Warren Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta, where goodie bags and gifts were distributed to local families. H.E.R.O. children and their families had the opportunity to come out and enjoy fun, games, food and live entertainment.

 

Throughout the event, face painting and Henna tattoos were available to our families, which they thoroughly enjoyed. As a special surprise, Cosplay volunteers dressed as popular super heroes- Black Lightning, Moana, Princess Tiana, and Wonder Woman- made guest appearances and took photos with the kids. DJ Byron, Jr. from Fat Beat's Inc. had the parents, children and volunteers on the dance floor throughout the event, playing a variety of music - from oldies to hip hop to reggaeton. Preceding lunch, H.E.R.O. staff introduced the first of two challenge games for the event - Stocking Stuffers. The objective of the game was to get as many ping pong balls as you could into your partner's Santa hat in one minute's time. Did we mention that the person catching the balls was blindfolded? This made for great fun. The team with the most balls in their hat won!

 

H.E.R.O. provided a catered lunch for the families, volunteers, UGA HEROs students and staff present at this event, as DJ Byron served up the beats. Following lunch, volunteers led an arts and crafts activity in which our children created "Thank You" cards for our donors. Next, H.E.R.O. staff introduced the second, four-player challenge game - Junk In the Trunk. A tissue box containing ping pong balls were tied around each player's waist, making sure the tissue box was in the back. The objective of the game was to shake the ping pong balls out of the box, without using your hands. The first person to empty their box won a prize! When the music began, the contestants began to 'shake it out!' This game was enjoyed by both the contestants and onlookers. Next, H.E.R.O. staff raffled off numerous presents including gift cards to local stores, art sets, toy cars, makeup, a tablet and more! To conclude the event, our UGA HEROs team distributed the Holiday of HEROs gifts to all of the families.

 

H.E.R.O. would like to give special thanks to all of the donors and volunteers who aided us for our 2018 Holiday of HEROs program. H.E.R.O. received generous financial gifts, in-kind donations and/or child sponsorships from the following individuals and organizations:  

Walgreens Greer and Andy Monin Amy Nyland and the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta Excel Chiropractic Candice Rivera, St. Peter Channel and the St. Vincent DePaul Society Wande Okunoren-Meadows and Little Ones Learning Center The Pilot Club of Atlanta UPS Store - Alpharetta Highway (Roswell) Sam's Club- Alpharetta Costco Wholesale- Perimeter Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

Northside Church Louise Shimer (Pilot Club of Atlanta) Allison Kolber Kathy Mattox Leah Burdett (Pilot Club of Atlanta) Sheryl Merrey (Pilot Club of Atlanta) Dene' Dixon (Pilot Club of Atlanta) Costco Wholesale- Woodstock Costco Wholesale- Alpharetta Costco Wholesale- Duluth Costco Wholesale- Brookhaven Arletta Brinson (Pilot Club of Atlanta) Susan Fletcher (Pilot Club of Atlanta)