TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Thanks to Tallahassee Public Works, two families in the Capital City are now going to wake up Christmas day with presents under the tree.
The Big Bend Homeless Coalition (BBHC) houses an average of 100 children every night in their emergency shelter and housing facilities at The Hope Community. This year, gifts for all the families from The Hope Community had been accounted for, except two.
So the Tallahassee Public Works Department collected money to make sure these families would get to have a Christmas after all. David Earle from the department, says stepping up to help the families was a no brainer.
"We were kind of under a rush and we pulled it together last minute, we have about 60 guys and they banded together," said Earle, "And if you've ever seen a bunch of construction guys trying to wrap gifts it's pretty amusing, but they spirit was in us and everyone banded together and did a great job wrapping the gifts and it was a pretty exciting time."
The workers pooled together $300 for each family for the holiday surprise. The BBHC says having gifts for the holidays allows children to return to a sense of normalcy.
"The joy that comes from the normalcy of receiving gifts and experiencing the holiday with the rest of the community is immeasurably helpful for those children on a daily basis as far as their well-being," explained Sylvia Smith, Executive Director of BBHC.
The homeless coalition said the big bend community really stepped up for families in need this holiday season with donations coming from multiple donors, churches and even whole departments like public works.
