This past Christmas, the inside of Memorial Gymnasium was transformed into the biggest Christmas party in Charlottesville for the sixth year in a row. Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries (CALM), a faith-based non-profit organization created to provide support for lower-income families of the Prospect Avenue community, held its annual Christmas Banquet to reach out to the people for whom Christmas means the most: the children. During the event, community members and University students gathered to celebrate the season, enjoy a catered dinner, and interact with approximately 55 children from this underdeveloped neighborhood.
Fourth-year College student Matt Allen, the main coordinator of the event, said he is pleased with the increasing success that the fundraiser has garnered over the years.
"Compared to past years, this year was more successful in terms of being a fundraiser," Allen said. "We raised about twice as much money, and this year we were able to smooth over problems from the past. The feedback has been really positive."
The banquet is organized by community members and University students who volunteer at the Abundant Life Center. According to Education student Elizabeth Clementson, this joint effort gives the banquet a communal feeling that keeps people coming back yearly.
"Membership is half-and-half University students and community members," Clementson said. "To me, it is a visible work of bringing together two different yet neighboring communities honoring these kids who salivate at the opportunity to be celebrated."
Planning for the event is a semester-long commitment in which approximately a dozen people are vital to the organizational process. Beginning with bi-weekly meetings in September, different individuals work on the various aspects of preparation, including reserving the gym, catering, recruiting servers, choosing decorations, and finding entertainment. Despite months of planning, there were still some unexpected yet welcome surprises awaiting Allen at the banquet.
"We had a problem for the first time with not having enough tables," Allen said.
This year, the usual 60 tables were not enough to accommodate over 600 people who attended the two-hour event, which included inspirational speakers, a holiday presentation by the children of Abundant Life, a Black Voices performance, and the traditional surprise visit from Santa Claus. A basket of gingerbread cookies and frosting awaited each child at the tables for decorating. At the end of the event, children had the chance to pick out Christmas presents for themselves and their families from the Christmas Store, a collection of toys and gifts that were either donated to Abundant Life or purchased by the Abundant Life Center with the banquet's proceeds. Children are able to earn these presents based on their participation in one of Abundant Life's programs, such as tutoring or the Bible Club. Volunteers and tutors in these programs award the children's increasing progress or good behavior with play money, called blue bucks, which the children can exchange for presents at the banquet.
Because of the structure of the programs, Abundant Life tutors, such as third-year College student Julia Bailey, are constantly interacting with their pupils and thus have the opportunity to watch the children grow and benefit from the lessons.
"I came to the banquet my first year, and then I got involved with it through a friend who asked me to help organize it," Bailey said. "I tutor there now, too. Basically we go to the Abundant Life Center once or twice a week depending on how much time we have to commit, and we have one child that we work with all year. We come in and help them with their homework, reading, and computer skills."
Former Abundant Life tutors were present at the banquet because of their past commitment to and knowledge of the organization. Although no longer volunteering at Abundant Life, third-year College student Kaely Medd said she wanted to show her support by attending the event with her sorority.
"I go to Trinity Presbyterian Church and [Abundant Life] is a ministry through Trinity Church," Medd said. "I tutored last year, so I got to actually do the Christmas Store with the kids, and I know exactly what the money is going towards."
Since the founding of Abundant Life in 1996, the organization's original goal of providing assistance to elementary school students has been expanded to include programs for middle and high school students. According to Allen, the programs that Abundant Life provides for the students have opened up opportunities for their future growth.
"Students in these programs have gone on to colleges and universities, or on to jobs," Allen said. "The programs promote upward mobility and help the job market in Charlottesville. Some of the children in our programs have gone on to work for Abundant Life."
"They are excited about this event for months," Clementson said. "They talk about it with their families and friends and they pick out their outfit a great time in advance. It really is a time when they feel loved, and they see love coming from many different directions. In addition to feeling appreciated and celebrated, they have the awareness in the community that there are college kids who are aware of Prospect."
According to Allen, future goals of the banquet include trying to get even more University students involved in the organization.
But the real joy of the night, according to fourth-year College student and former Abundant Life tutor Ansley McCarty, is the children.
"The most important thing to me is seeing the joy in the kids' faces," McCarty said. Abundant Life "is giving children who are at risk hope, a future and a place to go and grow."
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