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Thanksgiving weekend and the Christmas season are especially exciting at Youth Haven! Many of the children who come to Youth Haven will not have a special Thanksgiving or Christmas celebration at home. That's why we make every effort to help them feel special while they are with us.
On Thanksgiving weekend, the children who come to the Ranches will be served a delicious turkey dinner, complete with all the trimmings. Volunteers and staff wait on the children throughout the meal, serving them and meeting their needs. They feel like kings and queens at a fancy banquet!
Immediately following Thanksgiving weekend, our Christmas retreats will begin. These special retreats will be held on the weekends through the New Year, as well as occasional mid-week sessions during the Christmas break from school.
Christmas retreats are abuzz with the excitement of the season, and our staff take the opportunity to share with the children the true reason we celebrate Christmas. The boys and girls who attend these retreats will receive the same, special turkey dinner that the children who attended our Thanksgiving weekend received. They will hear the story of the birth of Christ from Luke 2 and sing carols about His birth. They will even sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, blow out candles on a cake that has been specially made for the occasion, and enjoy a delicious piece of birthday cake.
At the end of each retreat, the Youth Haven staff is thrilled to provide each disadvantaged child with a special bag of Christmas gifts, donated to the Ranches by friends like you. Each bag includes a note, explaining to the child that the toys were donated by special people who care about them. For many of them, these are the only gifts they will receive this year. It is a tangible, meaningful way for us to show these precious boys and girls that they are loved.
For more information about our Christmas toy drive, please click here.
