17 Dec YOC Celebrates 5th Anniversary of Green Family & Friends Christmas Shopping for YOC Kids

The Youth Opportunity Center (YOC) Foundation celebrated the 5th anniversary of the Green Family and Friends Christmas shopping for the YOC children.  They shopped at the Muncie Meijer Store, Saturday morning, December 12, for 30 of the 80 YOC children they sponsored this year.

Green, a member of the YOC Foundation Board of Directors, his wife Kim and their son, Jacob, have had a long history of buying Christmas gifts and back-to-school supplies for less-fortunate kids in Hancock and Henry Counties.

Giving back is something that’s just very important to us as a family, Green said.  Both my wife and I were raised to help others, and that’s how we’re raising our son.

Five years ago, the Green family turned their attention to his hometown, Yorktown, and the Youth Opportunity Center.  Before long, the entire Green family, including Barry’s parents, brothers and sisters-in-law and their children, were Christmas shopping for kids at the YOC who might not otherwise receive any presents. And, this year it has expanded to include friends, too.

We decided to forgo buying Christmas presents for each other so we could do this, Barry said.  After taking a tour of the YOC, you see firsthand how much these kids do not have.  And a lot of these kids have no one who believes in them. No one should go through childhood thinking that no one is thinking of them or praying for them.

Since the Greens started Christmas shopping for the YOC kids in 2010, the number of children they have been able to serve has grown from 7 to 80 this year.

Green said, Looking at how the YOC provides for these kids, giving them a sense of hope and comfort, teaching them that they can be somebody, and not to succumb to their circumstances – that’s the true meaning of Christmas.

If you would like to donate to the YOC kids this holiday season, please go to www.yocinc.org/donate/.