Covid couldn’t dampen the Christmas cheer of the annual foster care Christmas extravaganza


The annual foster care Christmas event transitioned from its traditional Christmas dinner and party to a covid-era, life-sized scavenger hunt based on the Candy Land board game. The effort also provided wish list gift items for 175 children in Ozark, Douglas and Wright counties’ foster care program. The event is organized by Stacy Garrison, left, and a group of Division of Family Services workers. Above, from left: volunteers Candace Mayberry, Ashley Volner, Brianne Bryson, Melanie Hanger, Kayla Premer and Kendra Ritchie.

Due to the covid virus, organizers of the annual Ozark-Douglas-Wright county foster kids Christmas party weren’t able to put on their traditional extravagant Christmas dinner. Instead, they created a life-sized Candy Land scavenger hunt that followed this map to find eight different locations in Ava, where each family found a decorated scene, received goodies and gifts and participated in fun activities.

At the last stop of the night, Santa greeted the foster children in each vehicle while Ava-area law enforcment officers loaded vehicles with gifts and other goodies. APD officer Kodie Johnson, left, helped Santa wish a family merry Christmas.

Through the annual event, Christmas gift lists were fulfilled for 175 children in the foster care system in Ozark, Douglas and Wright counties. Organizer Stacy Garrison said hundreds of volunteers, including Kendra Ritchie, left, and Ashley Volner, shown here wrapping gifts for distribution, put in thousands of hours to make the event a reality.

Officers with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department and the Ava police department worked with Santa Claus to pack insulated coolers full of all the makings for a traditional Christmas dinner, including a turkey and Assumption Abbey fruit cake, and handed the coolers out to dozens of families who participated in the Dec. 12 foster care Christmas event. Pictured from left is deputy Michael Schupbach, Sheriff Chris DeGase, deputy James Nelson, Santa Claus, officer Kodie Johnson and Cpl. Dewayne Butterworth.

Covid-19 has made this year a challenging one, and some annual events have been canceled in an effort to keep the community safe. As the pandemic waged its war across the nation earlier this year, organizers of this area’s annual foster care Christmas party realized it wouldn’t be wise to bring hundreds of people together in the same space for their annual Christmas party.

But thanks to the ingenuity of a team of dedicated organizers and the warm hearts and busy hands of hundreds of volunteers, the foster children and families of Ozark, Douglas and Wright counties were still able to participate in an elaborate Christmas extravaganza held Dec. 12 in Ava. This year, it just looked a little different. 

“We all have those moments from our childhood that are magical and hold a special place in our hearts,” volunteer Stacy Garrison told the Times. “We want these children and families to experience that every single year.”

The party was a joint effort of Division of Family Services employees, area churches, individuals and many community members in the three-county area. 

 

‘A new plan’

“Covid has changed the face of so much in our daily lives, and this year’s annual foster Christmas party was no different,” Garrison told the Times after the event. “We knew we couldn’t celebrate our foster children and families with a sit-down meal and party, so a new plan had to be hatched.”

Garrison and a small crew of workers started making plans for an alternate Christmas event that matched the size and wonderment of their usual huge, extravagant Christmas dinners. 

After much discussion and many ideas, the group settled on a plan to create a life-sized drive-thru scavenger hunt inspired by the traditional board game Candy Land. The scavenger hunt would lead families to eight different locations in Ava, each elaborately decorated with themes from the board game and featuring gifts and other goodies for the families.

“The workers, led by Tamara Collins, Kayla Premer and Candace Mayberry, along with several other volunteers, spent months planning and pivoting those plans to make sure these kids still had a night to remember,” Garrison said. “I think all who were a part of the event would definitely say they succeeded.”

Although Garrison heads up the annual event each year, she’s quick to give the credit to all the other volunteers and workers who help make the dream a reality.

“I’m so fortunate to be a part of this,” she said. “God uses every single talent, and he really worked with me on delegating this year.” Garrison said volunteers at each of the locations worked for hours recreating each one of the Candy Land scenes. Hundreds of businesses, organizations, individuals and churches donated their time, money and talents to see that the evening was a success, she said.

Garrison, a fifth grade teacher at Gainesville Elementary School, lives in Gainesville with her husband, Brian Garrison, a pastor of Ava Assembly of God Church, and their three children.

 

A Candy Land adventure

Each foster family began their journey at the Highway Church of the Nazarene in Ava, which had been transformed into “Cupcake Commons.” The decorations included extra-large cupcakes made from poster board, dinner-plate-sized wrapped candies and boxes full of tasty trimmings for a Christmas meal. 

“Workers, along with Douglas County Sheriff Chris DeGase and area officers, were there handing out large insulated coolers filled with all the makings for a full Christmas dinner, including the turkey,” Garrison said. “They were also given a map leading them to all of the other Candy Land locations. That’s when the fun began!”

The colorful map led families to the second stop at the Douglas County Health Department, decorated as the “Ice Palace.”

“Each foster child received a blanket, and the families were able to enjoy some Christmas carols sung by a group of volunteers,” Garrison said.

After the festive songs concluded, the adventure continued to the third stop on their Candy Land map, Life Church’s rendition of “Ice Cream Slopes,” where volunteers distributed McDonald’s Happy Meals and pies to each family.

The fourth stop took foster families to Ava’s Set Free Ministries, which had been transformed into “Peanut Acres,” where kettle corn was handed out and each child received a stocking filled to the brim with goodies. 

Families continued on to the fifth stop at Ava’s First Southern Baptist Church, which had been decorated as “Lollipop World,” featuring a huge outdoor display of lollipops, lighted Christmas trees and other decor. Each child was sent home with a giant lollipop and candy cane to enjoy.

The sixth stop led families to Crosspoint Church, recreated into Chocolate Mountain. At that stop, each family received a handmade Christmas card from Mammoth Assembly of God and cups of hot chocolate. 

The seventh stop was at Ava Methodist Church, which had been transformed into “Gummy Hills,” where each family received a large bag of cotton candy and other donated snacks. The snacks paired well with a short movie projected onto a giant outdoor screen. 

After the movie was over, families continued on to the last stop at Ava Assembly of God Church’s gingerbread house. 

“They were greeted again with law enforcement and Santa,” Garrison said. While each child got a quick visit with Santa, social service workers and law enforcement workers loaded the vehicles with gifts.”

Garrison said before the event, each foster child provided a Christmas wish list; the lists were distributed to area residents, organizations and churches who purchased the wanted gifts for each child. 

“They each got a pair of pajamas, their wishlist gifts and, thanks to the generosity of so many this year, we were able to gift each school-age child with a tablet in addition to their wish-list items!” she said. “Those younger than that age got another age-appropriate toy.”

 

The army behind the scenes

The Christmas event was made possible thanks to months of work and many people who each put  their own individual touch on making the night special, Garrison said. 

“The outpouring this year was one of the biggest and most humbling we’ve ever had,” she said. “There were thousands of dollars and items donated between wishlist gifts and other items, mounds of food was donated and prepared, stockings were stuffed with the neatest treats, locations were creatively decorated, time was given wrapping and doing a million other things – and most of all – love was shown to these families.”

Garrison said 175 wish lists were fulfilled. Although some families couldn’t be at the Saturday night events, gifts were wrapped and distributed to them afterward.

“The communities who helped went above and beyond to work together to see how a magical tradition could continue despite new obstacles we were facing with covid-19,” Garrison said. “Thank you for allowing me to be the go-to on this, but all the people who helped, you are the feet and hands of Christ.”

 

Become involved

To become involved in the annual foster care Christmas party for families in the 44th Circuit, which encompasses Ozark, Douglas and Wright counties, contact contact Stacy Garrison at 417-683-8706. 

To financially contribute to next year’s event, make checks payable to Ava Assembly of God-Foster Care Party and mail to PO Box 1240, Ava MO 65608.

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423