Volunteers bringing joy of Christmas to Tarrant County abused kids amid COVID pandemic
For the past two years, Ryan Young and the Circle of Dads have assembled bicycles and toys for Christmas Connection, a holiday project of Alliance For Children which provides free gifts for abused children in Tarrant County.
They’ll be at it again in a few days.
“The work that the Alliance For Children does is amazing,” Young said in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Having the opportunity to give those children a sense of normalcy while they are on their difficult journey is truly remarkable.”
For the past three years, Alliance For Children has operated the Christmas Connection pop-up store to help promote healing for child abuse victims and their families.
On Christmas morning, children will receive the gifts that range from bikes to board games and from electronic games to dolls.
“We know that a child’s basic needs have to be met before we can expect a child and their caregiver to heal,” said Katia Gonzalez, director of community engagement at Alliance For Children, in an email to the Star-Telegram. “As such, Christmas Connection is another tool in our toolbox, so to speak that allows us to restore hope and rebuild lives of the children we serve.”
And there aren’t just a few. Last year, Alliance For Children served 2,125 abused children in Tarrant County. Most of them were males between the ages of 6 and 12 years old.
And, a majority of the children were victims of sexual abuse.
Since 1992, Alliance For Children has served over 60,000 children in Tarrant County. It’s a nonprofit organization involved in protecting children from abuse through coordinated and teamed investigations with local law enforcement agencies, Cook Children’s Medical Center, JPS Health Network, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, Tarrant County Juvenile Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
“This holiday season, many families are facing extra stress,” said Alliance For Children spokeswoman Molly Horn in a news release. “Alliance For Children wants to help alleviate that stress for the families we serve by providing a unique Christmas shopping experience. Parents and caregivers of the children we have helped can come to our pop-up shop and get Christmas gifts for their children.”
Members of Circle of Dads and other community volunteers will meet Saturday to assemble the bicycles and toys that will go in the Christmas Connection pop-up shop.
Parents and caregivers will then shop for the free gifts on Dec. 10 through Dec. 12, and again on Dec. 14. Masks and social distancing will be required because of the COVID-19 pandemic during the shopping.
“We all remember the joys of opening new gifts on Christmas Day as children and didn’t want them to miss out on that experience because they told of their abuse,” Gonzalez said. “Not all of the families we serve need our help through the holidays, but for those that do, the Christmas Connection program helps alleviate some stress.”
Alliance For Children has six locations in Tarrant County, and attracts volunteers from all over the county like the Circle of Dads.
Circle of Dads started as a Facebook group for men to share their struggles, according to Young, its founder. It is now a podcast with the same name.
“In my case, I grew up without a present father,” Young said in an email to the Star-Telegram. “I experienced severe trauma when I was child and I operated under a false idea of what emotional health was.”
Young created Circle of Dads for men to find resources and encouragement, and one of their projects has been the Christmas Connection.
A member of Circle of Dads alerted Young that Alliance For Children could use some help with assembling bikes and toys.
“I would say yes to way more than just assembling bikes if I were asked,” Young said. “This is the least we can do and look forward to many years of being of service to their invaluable organization.”
Gonzalez noted that there are a myriad of dynamics that places families in position of needing help during the holidays. For some kids, the person who abused them was also the breadwinner and as a result the family lost financial support. For others, some children had to be moved out and placed with relatives who have limited resources.
Last year, Gonzalez said several families had to flee their home and leave everything including the children’s toys behind.
“It means something to caregivers that may be feeling alone that people they’ve never met, care enough about them to give of their resources,” Gonzalez said. “We have several caregivers that were served through Christmas Connection that are now in a better place, and now give back to this program because it was a big help to them when they needed it.”
Anyone wishing to help Alliance For Children should call 817-989-9075.
