Our first ever Santa’s Drive-Thru Workshop was a three-day event with intentions to spread holiday cheer and put smiles on kiddos faces—and it accomplished both of these!
Santa, Mrs. Claus and an elf made a visit from the North Pole to meet, greet, and take photos with the children of Champaign County. Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff from Frozen even made an appearance! The kiddos who drove through the workshop received a goody bag from Crisis Nursery Family Specialists who were able to provide information about the services offered at the Nursery.
The Giving Tree was the second and final stop, where attendees could leave a monetary or in kind donation. This stop was also where Santa’s mailbox was located. From the amount of “letters to Santa” we received, this was a well-loved component of the event!
Santa and Mrs. Claus mailed 135 letters to kiddos across central Illinois. One-hundred-and-thirty visitors from Champaign, Piatt and Vermillion Counties joined us over the weekend—some kiddos and their parents even ventured from Chicago!
Seven lucky kiddos found a golden ticket in their goody bag, which was valid to trade in for one special prize, such as a family-sized pizza kit, a drone, a Harry Potter Lego set, and a Kindle Fire to name a few.
The Crisis Nursery Team would like to give a huge shout out to the presenting sponsor of Santa’s Drive-Thru Workshop, Christie Clinic, who helped make our event possible and successful.
For nearly a century, Christie Clinic has been providing quality healthcare to their patients. More than 185 medical providers covering 41 specialties in 29 locations spanning east central Illinois work for the medical group, making it the go-to medical facility for virtually every aspect of your family’s health.
Christie Clinic is proud to be a sponsor and help Crisis Nursery provide emergency crisis care to children in Champaign County, the only emergency facility in the county open all hours, every single day of the year.
In addition to Crisis Nursery, Christie Clinic is a sponsor of the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon, United Way, and Project Athletes; and brings smiles to the community each holiday as the title sponsor of the Champaign Center Partnership Parade of Lights. Thank you to Christie Clinic for being the presenting sponsor of the event!
Another huge shout out to our event sponsor ESS Clean, Inc. for helping make the Workshop successful! They have been providing cleaning solutions for commercial facilities throughout Central Illinois and Indiana since 1995. They take care of the cleaning, so the customers can focus on their core businesses.
“We enjoy working with Crisis Nursery because we have a heart for children,” Paul from ESS Clean, Inc. said. “We want to do our part to make sure every child grows up with the opportunity to know Jesus, to find their true purpose, to love others, and to be loved.”
Footage from the event was captured by Erin Valle at WCIA, giving a Photos on Friday evening were kindly taken by Sweet Lemonade. Diane Ducey with Stevie Jay Broadcasting provided holiday music and the Champaign County Fairgrounds generously provided the space at no cost. Thank you to all who made the event a success. The Nursery raised just over $28,000 for our programs and services!
