Each year during the holidays, our church has the opportunity to provide the children of Willow Elementary School with special Christmas gifts. (Willow has been First Church's Cleveland Public School partner for more than a decade.) This year, with our expanded congregation at Epworth-Euclid, we have increased the ways to help.

Our first priority is to provide a new book for every one of the nearly 300 children at Willow. We learned that many of these children never had a personal book of their own in their homes until First Church began it's "A Book for Every Child" Christmas campaign. Now it is a tradition that the children eagerly await. Books may be purchased that are appropriate for multi-cultural children in kindergarten through eighth grade and they must be non-religious in content. For on-line shoppers, one of the Willow teachers has suggested the Bluford Series produced by Townsend Press. This is a series of 15 books ($1.00/book) appropriate for children in the 5th to 8th grades.

Bring your unwrapped books to either church office no later than Sunday, December 13. This date must be observed so books can be sorted and delivered to Willow before their winter break on December 18. If you are a retired teacher and are available to help sort books at First Church, and/or if you would like to help personally deliver the books when our volunteer Santa caravan drives to Willow, please let Heather Howard in the First Church office by sending an email to churchoffice@firstchurchcleveland.com.

In addition to books, we have been made aware that a real need exists for children to have gloves, hats, scarves and thermal underwear. Any of these unwrapped, donated items will be kept in the school office and made available to children in need during the winter months. (Under Armour is a brand of skin-type, nylon underwear that is popular and appropriate. A much more affordable version – not the same brand name – is available at Walmart.)

And another way we can help...Willow children have a uniform requirement – light blue and white shirts that button and are not pullovers. Oftentimes the shirts the children wear become worn and dirty, so the administration keeps extra, clean shirts available for special needs. If you'd like to donate an unwrapped used or new, CLEAN light blue or white button shirt in any young person's size, these gifts will also be gratefully received.