TRC hosts Celoron’s children’s Christmas party

Among TRC staff who attended the event was Michelle Vaughn, Secretary with the Jamestown Rehabilitation Services Program, shown here with husband Derek and don Cole.

The sounds and sights of the holiday season were in splendor December 8 when The Resource Center hosted the Village of Celoron’s children’s Christmas party.

It was the second year in a row that TRC and the Village teamed to host the party.  While a snowstorm that lasted much of the day may have reduced the number of attendees, a total of 72 children and their family members came to enjoy refreshments, holiday videos and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.  The event was held in TRC’s Conference Center inside the administrative office building on Dunham Avenue.  The Village takes on most of the responsibility for the party, with TRC providing the space and the refreshments.

As families arrived, they registered at the door, then enjoyed punch and holiday cookies while videos were projected on the wall.  Once everyone had arrived, Mayor Jack Keeney gave some welcoming remarks.

“We’re blessed to be a small community, and being a small community we can offer events like this and bring all the community young people together in one place and have the chance to have that fellowship and that socialization and camaraderie all together,” the Mayor said.  “What a great facility we’re able to use here at The Resource Center.  What a great partner.”

Payton Dustin, grandson of TRC Allied Health Assistant Micky Schrecongost, tells Santa what he hopes to find under the tree Christmas morning.

Then, as is tradition. Robin Young, a member of the Village’s Board of Trustees, read “The Night Before Christmas.”  Once the classic Christmas tale was over, Mayor Keeney told the children that it was time for a special visitor to arrive.  As the children craned their necks to see, in strode Santa and Mrs. Clause, accompanied by a young girl dressed as an elf and an even younger boy dressed as a reindeer.

The Clauses took a seat on a sofa at the front of the room.  Starting with the youngest children and then moving to the older ones, each child was called up to receive a gift.  The name of a child was on each wrapped gift, and as Mayor Keeney read a name, the child would come forward to accept his or her present, with many of the children followed closely by one or both of their parents, who wanted to get a photo or some video of the child with the Clauses.

After receiving their presents, the children eagerly tore off the wrapping paper to see what they had gotten.  Many of the children took the opportunity to play with their new toy right there on the spot.  And just how did Santa know what to give each child?

Micky Schrecongost, Allied Health Assistant at TRC’s Pharmacy, brought several of her grandchildren to the Christmas party.

“When the parents sign up for the event, they give Santa some suggestions of what they’d like, and Santa sees whether he can provide those things, so the kids get what they want,” said Mayor Keeney.

After all of the presents had been handed out, Santa and Mrs. Claus took their leave in order to get back to the North Pole, followed by Elf Sage and Reindeer Noah.

Officials from the village and TRC were overjoyed at the party’s success and plan to hold the party again next year.  TRC staff members, village officials and Fire Department volunteers all chipped in to make the evening a success.