PHILIPSBURG/CENTRE COUNTY, Pa — With the holiday season right around the corner, holiday shopping is on everyone’s mind but for those less fortunate, Christmas is not always so merry.
The Moshannon Valley YMCA in Philipsburg has been doing their part in fixing that for over 40 years.
They’ll be handing out gifts to hundreds of children this Sunday at the Moshannon Valley Enterprise Center, and while COVID has made it harder to shop, the Christmas program’s commitment hasn’t changed.
“I think it’s important every year to do it, not just this year. I think it’s every year, there’s always people who struggle, always," said Judy Sinclair, who works at the YMCA.
For many doing last minute shopping this weekend, popular toys will be hard to come by thanks to pandemic-related supply-chain issues.
However, Sinclair says the Mo-Valley YMCA beat the rush by shopping for presents well ahead of schedule.
“I started getting children’s names probably in September, first part of October, and that gave people a chance to go out and get stuff while it was still available and still had not gotten too expensive, so people took advantage of that.”
It also helped that the Christmas program at the Y is known far and wide in the area.
“This program has been going on for so long, people around here...know what it’s about, know what we do," she said. "I have people who took part in it years and years and years ago and still come back to repay.”
Judy’s been a part of this program for decades, and she says creating happiness is priceless.
“Can you imagine going to school after Christmas and not having any new clothes to wear? Or not being able to brag about what toys they get? That’s something that would really bother me and a lot of other people.”
But Judy says the YMCA has never been alone in stocking Santa’s sleigh.
“We could not do this without the community. We could not.”
Unfortunately, Judy said that despite the advanced planning at the Y, she’ll be doing her own shopping this weekend.
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