Two groups on campus, Treadaway Kids and the Big Purple Marching Band, are embodying the spirit of giving with programs aimed at serving children in the Abilene community.
Treadaway Kids (TWK) is an organization run by students at ACU and is involved with children in the community who endure some sort of poverty.
Adopt An Angel is an annual event put on by the members of TWK to ensure that the children in the program and their families have a good holiday season, said Laura James, TWK vice president.
A table is set up in the Campus Center for students, faculty and staff that would be interested in choosing an “angel” with a child’s name on it to buy Christmas presents for that child, said James, junior elementary education major from Midland.
“This program helps our parents give their children gifts for Christmas,” James said. “For many of the kids, it’s the only want they get. It empowers their parents to know their child is happy. They don’t have to worry their kid is going to go back to school after Christmas and be the only one who doesn’t have a cool gift to talk about.”
She said participants will get to pick a child, pull that child’s angel off of the tree, register at the TWK table and get an information sheet that is filled with both wants and needs for the child.
James said her favorite part of the program is telling the people who pick out the angels about the kids.
“Being able to say to someone who picks out an angel, “Oh. That kids a jokester; he’s athletic; she really likes horses; etc.’ really gives meaning to the angels,” James said. “It makes them real.”
After choosing an angel participants will take their child’s list of wants and needs and will spend no more than $30. The unwrapped gifts must be dropped off by Dec. 4 in the Center for Christian Service & Leadership where they will be sorted and wrapped by TWK student volunteers. To learn more information, go the Campus Center and visit their table between 11 a.m and 1 p.m.
Another event, Christmas for Kids, is an annual event that the Big Purple Marching Band hosts along with the Noah project, which according to the Noah Project website is “a center of care for victims of family violence, serving ten counties in West Central Texas.”
Students in the Big Purple fundraise for Christmas for Kids by carrying around buckets to collect change around campus, said Stephanie Bradley, vice president of the Big Purple. Band members collected change outside of Chapel on Monday, in the Campus Center on Tuesday and plan to be at the Jazz Ensemble Concert on Thursday night.
Bradley, junior music education major from Littleton, Colo., said all donations go toward buying Christmas gifts for children at the Noah Project who will be spending their Christmas in the center. The parents and their children come to the Williams Performing Arts Center’s Choir Room and enjoy a night of fun and holiday spirit.
During the program, Bradley said members of the band bring food to share with everyone. The children get to open one present at the party and then they get to take the rest home to open on Christmas with their family. Santa will also make his annual appearance at the event and will read a Christmas book to the children.
“I think this event really lets us all see just how much we are blessed,” Bradley said. “It’s a humbling and unforgettable experience being able to share in this event with everyone. I believe that the kids are blessed by this event because they get to have a Christmas. They also get to see how much they are loved by people who they do not even know.”
Bradley said she enjoys getting to shop for the children, but it is also great to see the parents getting to relax while all of the students get to play with the children after they have opened their present.
“I’ve been the vice president for the past two years and it has been amazing getting to see people donate out of the goodness of their hearts and do whatever they can for this event,” Bradley said. “It makes me appreciate our ACU community even more.”
