GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For Rebekah Burris, she dedicated her Saturday morning to driving presents for The Santa Claus Girls, helping Kent County families put gifts under their Christmas Tree.
"I just love getting involved with the community and volunteering where I can," said Burris.
She volunteered as a driver, helping around 10 to 15 families that need Christmas presents this season.
"They give you a route, they load up your car with some gifts, and you just deliver as much as you can."
This year, however, was a little more special for the non-profit.
Since COVID-19, they haven't had a normal year of gift giving until now.
"We've been doing this for 114 years, but we didn't deliver during COVID in 2020. Last year we did a drive up and we only serviced about 2,200 kids. It broke our hearts, so this year we secured a space and are delivering back to what we've done for 112 years, which is over 12,000 kids," said Tina Hudson, President of The Santa Claus Girls.
Hudson is more than excited to be back on track. "It warms my heart from top to bottom," she said.
Kaitlynn Brown and her teammates from the Cedar Springs Cross County Team joined the 150 volunteers who helped load presents into vehicles.
"We wanted to help out the community and help out the children around here because it's just something we want to do, make people feel better around this time of season," said Brown.
It's an experience she says she's thankful for.
"Makes me feel like I can do something for my community as I'm growing up here," said Brown.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.