Children delighted to receive gifts

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard

Motlow’s Tisha McClure presents a “warm and fuzzy” gift bag to 6-year-old Samantha Bauman during the RAPP Angel Tree celebration at the Senior Center Friday. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

Students of Motlow College and members of Phi Theta Kappa sponsored their annual Angel Tree celebration for the local Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) at the Senior Center Friday. Children involved with the RAPP program received gifts donated through the efforts of Motlow students.

Tisha McClure, Motlow Student Government Association vice president and Phi Theta Kappa president, said the program has become a yearly project for the school at Christmas time.

“Motlow Phi Theta Kappa has supported this group for three consecutive years,” McClure said. “What we do is we have an Angel Tree at school and we have students in general to adopt an angel and they bring in a gift and we donate them all to RAPP.”

Each year a dinner is held where Motlow students come and interact with children and their families in the RAPP program and basically get to play Santa.

“The gifts are distributed by the Motlow students,” McClure said.

In addition to RAPP families and Motlow students, those attending this year included some of the student’s spouses and children, a Motlow teacher and also some volunteers from Pacesetters.

McClure said the group chose RAPP because they felt it was a worthy cause.

“There is a great need for attention to this group,” said McClure. “We just felt this was an organization that needed to be emphasized.”

McClure said there are around 18 to 20 families whose children will receive Christmas gifts due to the group’s efforts.

Veronica Solomon, who works with the local RAPP program, said RAPP provides a number of services to local families.

“We help people in Warren County who are raising their grandchildren, nieces or nephews,” Solomon said. “We provide support groups, tutoring, mentoring services and some financial aid assistance.”