Staff Reports

Eastvale – VantagePoint Church held their 6^th Annual Christmas Gift Mart on December 1 at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.  This event helps low-income families provide holiday gifts for their children each year. 

This year’s Gift Mart allowed 420 families to take home 2,100 gifts for their children.  Members of VantagePoint Church donated over 1,800 of these gifts, each valuing from $15 to $25. 

In addition to the donations, over 300 volunteers gathered to make this event possible.  Even the local Boy Scout Troop woke up early to serve 1,100 pancake breakfasts for the families waiting in line.  The families were very grateful for the breakfast and coffee served, because some of them began lining up for the event the day before!

However, it was definitely worth the wait as families had a great time at this year’s Christmas Gift Mart.  Parents were able to pick out Christmas presents while their children made holiday crafts.  Then, volunteers wrapped the gifts and took them to each family’s cars.  Children were also excited to meet Santa, Santa’s elves, Spider-Man, Princess Belle, and Kylo Ren.  The entertainment continued with performances by the Eleanor Roosevelt High School band, choir, and drama departments.  In addition, free raffles and balloon animals were provided to the families before they went in to shop.

This event continues to touch the lives of local families each year.  “One family told us that their child just got out of the hospital and without us, they wouldn’t have been able to afford Christmas,” said Monique Whritenour, VantagePoint Operations & Outreach Director.

“Families were blessed, lives were changed, and we found a tangible way to be living proof of a loving God to those around us,” Whritenour added.

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