HEART OF THE COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DRIVE

Growing up in such a small town, I found warmth and comfort in local volunteerism. I spent most of my high school years supporting non-profits as much as I could, but I realized that there was a greater need than what I could fulfill on my own. I founded Heart of the Community Christmas Drive (HCCD) with a mission to give back to my community in more ways than one. I wanted to encourage high school volunteerism, offer help to Salida non-profits, gift local children in need with Christmas gifts, and provide scholarships to students that dedicated themselves to bettering this community.

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Through HCCD, students find sponsors (family, friends, community members, etc..) to donate money to HCCD based on the number of hours they spend volunteering in Salida. The money raised by the students and their sponsors is used to purchase Christmas gifts for local children in need. We provide two $500 scholarships to the student who completes the most volunteer hours and to the student that raises the most sponsorship money.

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Over the course of our four holiday seasons, HCCD's student volunteers accumulated nearly 400 hours. Combined with the generous donations from our sponsors, we have raised over $20,000 that went towards purchasing Christmas gifts for 479 Salida children. Our 5th season will start in October of 2023. 

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Since I graduated in the spring of 2021, I invited Sarah Chick and Kira Khul to join the HCCD leadership team as they bring just as much love and passion to this program as I do. We all hope that HCCD will continue to give back to our community for years to come. Thank you for your interest and Merry Christmas always! 

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Sophie Pressly — HCCD Founder