Georgia Chapter Brings Holiday Cheer to Families in Need

Over the holiday season, WoodmenLife Chapter 2002 in Covington, GA, delivered cheer and fun to foster children, special needs children, and low-income families.

On Dec. 5 at the Legion Field in Covington, more than 300 people arrived to meet Santa, enjoy snacks, decorate cookies, and make holiday crafts at a free holiday event.

Creating Holiday Cheer

Patsy Cook, secretary of Chapter 2002 and a former special needs para, said members wanted to be able to host an event for children with special needs, foster families, and low-income families — though it would be open to anyone who wanted to come.

“I know a bunch of families in that population, and they were all talking about wanting to take pictures with Santa and having activities for kids to do over the holidays,” she said. “At our chapter meeting, I said that I wanted to do an event where we could have Santa and children could do crafts.”

After securing a Santa, dressing Chapter 2002 volunteers in costumes — including the Grinch and Buddy the Elf — and coming up with activities, chapter members were prepared for the holiday event.

The team set up a cookie decorating station, a table for children to write letters and mail them to Santa, a place to decorate ornaments and other crafts, and a coloring station.

Teenage and adult volunteers managed each of the tables to assist with the crowd. By the end of the event, there had been about 300 visitors, Cook said.

“From the time the doors opened at around 5 p.m., we had a constant line,” she said. “It was amazing — it’s definitely the biggest event that I’ve ever helped host.”

An ‘Amazing’ Event

With the success in 2025, Cook said Chapter 2002 hopes to host the event every year — and hopes to expand to accommodate more people.

“It was amazing. We really had no idea what the response was going to be,” Cook said. “We put the word out, but we had no idea who would show up. It was a wonderful experience.”

Being able to host a free event and support every population was the best part for Cook and Chapter 2002.

“We just wanted to have an event for people who can’t afford to go to the mall to get their photo taken with Santa. We wanted to help people who could really benefit from it,” Cook said. “Seeing the kids’ faces light up, that just makes everything worth it.”

Written by: Cheyenne Alexis, Communications Strategist

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