Joyous isn’t an adequate enough word to describe the atmosphere at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Batesburg on the afternoon of Sunday, December 12th as congregational volunteers came together to sponsor the 18th annual Santa’s Closet event for members of the Lexington County School District Three Mentoring Program.
Mentees, with the assistance of their mentors, were able to shop free of charge in several rooms at the church that were filled with table upon table of gift options for their parents, siblings and other family members who live with them. Once the presents had been carefully selected by the mentees, they were dropped off for wrapping by a team from St. John’s UMC while the mentee and his/her mentor enjoyed fellowship, games, and delicious food provided by members of the church. As the event winded down, mentees picked up the wrapped gifts for their family members along with a giant stocking stuffed full of goodies for themselves, all courtesy of St. John’s very giving parishioners.
“From the bottom of my heart, I thank the members of St. John’s United Methodist Church for their unwavering, continued support of the Lexington Three Mentoring Program. What a blessing it is that our children are learning to appreciate the gift of giving to others and are able to anticipate the joy that they will feel when their gift is unwrapped by a family member on Christmas morning. Without a doubt, St. John’s UMC made the holidays more merry for all of our Panther Pals and Reading Buddies,” said Elizabeth Phillips, the Lexington Three Mentoring Program Coordinator.
The Lexington Three Mentoring Program is always looking to add more mentors. Anyone who may be interested or who would like more information can contact Elizabeth Phillips at 803-960-1005.
