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Tuesday, November 24, 2015
ENP STAFF REPORTS
news@eastniagarapost.com


New Directions Youth and Family Services -- parent company to Wyndham Lawn in Lockport -- has launched its 2015 “Save a Christmas” program, an annual drive providing holiday gifts to low-income or single-parent families served by New Directions’ community-based programs through individual gift donations or family sponsorships.

The program, originally referred to as the “Angel Tree Program,” was first started in 2013 by Ashleigh MacLachlan, wrap-around care coordinator at New Directions.

“Save a Christmas” was inspired by MacLachlan’s personal experience of dealing with domestic violence and leaving home with her mother and brother when she was nine years old. As a child, she received a gift from an angel tree program which, according to Ashleigh, essentially “saved her Christmas.”
 
“That first Christmas we were involved with a program similar to the ‘Save a Christmas’ program,” said MacLachlan. “I specifically remember the gifts I received that year, and it meant so much to me that someone I didn’t know had gotten these things for me.”

Because of her own experience, MacLachlan decided to start an annual holiday donation program at New Directions to make Christmas a happier day for those with a similar background.

“Our annual program gives people in our community the opportunity to sponsor a family or donate a special gift on a child’s wish list that he or she probably would not have received otherwise,” said MacLachlan.

The program donated gifts to 67 children in 2013, and 250 children in 2014. The goal of this year’s program is to benefit at least 300 children in Niagara, Erie and Allegany counties.

To save ‘Save a Christmas’ for a child this holiday season, visit SaveAChristmas.org or contact Jeff Mendola, Director of Mission Advancement at New Directions, at 839-9500 or jmendola@ndyfs.org. Donations can be dropped off at Wyndham Lawn, 6395 Old Niagara Road.



East Niagara Post is the official media sponsor of Hockey Day in Lockport.

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