BIDDEFORD — Children who might otherwise not be able to buy their family Christmas gifts were given an opportunity to shop for their families Saturday during the Joyful Harvest Center’s annual Kids Shopping and Pancake Breakfast event.
Fourteen-year-old Kaitlyn Gagnon participated and said was able to get gifts for each person on her list Saturday.
Second Congregational Church was transformed for the event into a gift shopping center with tables full of a wide variety of items, including toys, housewares, socks, books and CDs.
“We’ve had wonderful gifts this year,” said volunteer Cat Janson.
All the items were donated, said Joyful Harvest Director Shay Stewart-Bouley.
The center began collecting items around Thanksgiving, and put a notice out in a newsletter, she said.
City Councilor Bob Mills, dressed up as Santa, greeted children and their parents outside the church. Inside, all were invited to partake in a pancake breakfast. Children registered “to shop” and wrote down a list of people for whom they wanted to shop. Each child was allowed two to four items, said Stewart-Bouley. Volunteers took the children to the gift room and assisted them in finding presents for the people on their lists. After children found gifts for everyone on their lists, they were taken to another room where all their items were wrapped.
“It’s nice because it goes home wrapped and ready to go under the tree,” said Janson.
The gifts, the wrapping and the breakfast were all free.
“Best of all, no money changes hands in this entire process,” said Stewart-Bouley. Many children who may not be able to get their family members gifts get an opportunity to go Christmas shopping through the event, said Stewart-Bouley. The shopping event also helped teach children that Christmas is about giving, she said.
The event saw a steady stream of shoppers Saturday.
“It’s been a pretty busy morning,” said Stewart-Bouley.
A posting later that day on the center’s Facebook page said 78 children had shopped that day at the event, and 163 people came by for a meal. Families from communities outside Biddeford, including Dayton, Arundel and Scarborough came to the event, according to the website.
For children who were not able to make it on Saturday, there will be a chance for them to shop after school at the Joyful Harvest Neighborhood Center, located at 34 Water St., on Monday, said Stewart-Bouley.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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