Less than two miles from central Grounds is a neighborhood that sharply contrasts the academia and opulence characterizing the University community. Comprised predominately of the "working poor," approximately 30 percent of the 380 families in the neighborhood surrounding Prospect Avenue are fully reliant on public assistance, and nearly half of the adult residents have not completed high school.
The community is one of five federally defined low-income neighborhoods in Charlottesville. Despite the differences between the University and "Prospect," tomorrow night these two communities will merge at the Abundant Life Christmas Banquet in Memorial Gymnasium. Together, the two will celebrate the Christmas season, honoring the children in the Prospect neighborhood and raising money for the Christmas Store of Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries.
Christmas banquets past
Fundraisers abound at the University, but when Commerce alumnus Brett Gibson conceived the idea of the Christmas Banquet two years ago, he had something special in mind. Gibson envisioned a Christian philanthropy event that would bring people from different communities together to raise money for underprivileged children. To achieve this goal, Gibson and some friends approached Rydell Payne, the director of Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries -- an organization in the Prospect neighborhood that seeks to help residents grow spiritually, vocationally and academically -- and asked Payne to form a partnership between Abundant Life and the Christmas Banquet.
The answer was a resounding yes, and in December 2000 approximately 600 students, faculty members, Abundant Life staff members and volunteers, and children from the Prospect neighborhood donned semi-formal attire and gathered in Newcomb Hall for the first banquet.
The banquet, however, accomplished more than raising $2,000 in donations to Abundant Life's Christmas store.
"Throughout the evening, I saw beaming faces from these kids, and the kids truly were the honored guests and were commended for all their work in school," said fourth-year Nursing student Andrea Magri, who has been intimately involved with Abundant Life as a volunteer for the past five years.
"For some of these kids, that recognition is a rare thing."
The presence of the children also had a special effect on the members of the University community attending the banquet, Gibson said.
"If the banquet was simply a dinner of University faculty and students, that would be nice," Gibson said. "But with the kids there, the banquet was truly a winter wonderland and filled with excitement about Christmas."
The spirit of giving
Sisters Asia and Deiera Henderson, ages 10 and 7, sat at the kitchen table of their home in Prospect, eating potato chips and corndogs. With unmistakable excitement on her face, Deiera explained what she would be getting her relatives for Christmas.
"I'm going to get my mom a bracelet, and my daddy a watch," she said. Then, with a twinkle in her eye she looked at her older sister, "Asia, I can't tell you what I'm going to get you."
On Dec. 14, Asia and Deiera, along with other children in the Prospect neighborhood who have participated in Abundant Life's tutoring program, will use their "blue bucks" earned for good behavior during the semester to "buy" gifts for their family members. The gifts, which include jewelry, clothes, sports equipment, toys and gift certificates, are donated by local churches and businesses, and also are purchased with money raised from the Christmas banquet.
"The original vision of the Christmas banquet was also to teach the children the spirit of giving," Gibson said. "The banquet helps with that by putting money into a Christmas store which Abundant Life uses to show kids the joy of giving to others."
Two years ago, the Abundant Life Christmas Store was stocked with scooters.
"Those scooters were the hot item, and every kid in Prospect wanted one," recalled Magri.
Two brothers who had been earning blue bucks all semester were among those who wanted scooters for Christmas, and each picked out a scooter for the other while going through the store.
"The brothers were in the store at the same time, and it was so funny to see them each trying to hide the scooter from each other," Magri said. "I always wondered if they were able to wait until Christmas morning to give each other those scooters."
Holiday cheer
Third-year College student William Terry walked into K-Mart a few weeks ago to buy decorations for the Christmas banquet. Terry talked to the K-mart manager, and left with the assurance that the store would loan the banquet an eight-foot tall snowman, a soldier and a reindeer to use in decorating for the banquet.
"It's incredible how people give to the banquet," Terry said. "I just walked into K-mart and talked to the manager about our decorating needs, and he said 'We'll hook you up with some stuff.'"
K-Mart is not the only local business donating to the banquet. Cindy Chapin, a second-year College student helping with the banquet, said that Bath & Body Works, Courtyard Marriott and Rapid Photo all have made monetary donations. Pepsi also is donating bottled water for the banquet, which is necessary due to the drought.
Scott Stroney, sales director of University Catering, has not only subsidized the banquet, but has played an integral role in shaping it, Gibson said.
Gingerbread men and houses have adorned the tables at the Christmas banquet, but their purpose is more than decorative. Nine-year-old Trey Steptoe, who attended last year's banquet, says decorating these gingerbread men is his favorite part of the evening.
Stroney will again be providing the gingerbread and icing for free to offset the costs of the banquet, fourth-year College student Austen Johnson said.
Tomorrow evening, Memorial Gymnasium will be transformed for the third annual Abundant Life Christmas Banquet. Seventy-five children from Abundant Life will join hundreds of University students and faculty, as well as members of the Charlottesville community, for an evening of food, singing by Black Voices, and general merriment.
Third-year College student Colin Hunter hopes the evening will be more than just the food and entertainment.
"My vision is for the banquet to break down barriers between the children and the students at U.Va.," he said. "I want the banquet to create a forum for people to give back to the community through relationships."
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