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Donations needed for Children's Annual Christmas Party in Grant County

32 views · Published 5 December 2017 · 2:13 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2017 · News & Politics

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GRANT COUNTY, Ky. (WKRC) – For hundreds of children in Grant County, Christmas comes early each year. It's all because of the hard work of volunteers.

This year, the people who help the kids need a little help themselves making the party special.

The volunteers were gathered at the H.O.P.E. Center in Dry Ridge working hard the night before Thanksgiving. They don’t do it for a paycheck. They are all volunteers and they’re all working to make sure that nearly 200 people have hot Thanksgiving meals.

H.O.P.E. stands for “Helping Out People Everywhere”. The next big project for the organization is the annual County Christmas.

Amy Ward came Wednesday evening to donate food, but she has taken her children to the County Christmas for two years.

"It's actually fun. you get to pick out toys for the kids. They get to see Santa Claus, paint. They have a lot of fun," said Ward.

"Last year, we had 387 families that received Christmas. Each child received three toys and an outfit. This year, we're doing it differently. The child is going to get one wrapped gift. The goal is to do 400 girl gifts and 400 boy gifts," said Rocklin Ballenger, who is a volunteer.

The volunteers need sponsors to donate toys and clothes. They want to make sure each child has something special. They're asking for help from businesses and neighbors, but no matter what they get, they are determined to make the County Christmas a success for the kids.

“We won't turn away any child. We open it up to everyone,” Ballenger said.

The County Christmas party is the evening of December 1st from 6 p.m.- 9 p.m. at Sherman Elementary School.

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