Since 1999, Mid Michigan College and its employees have supplied Christmas for at least 60 children from Clare and Gladwin counties. Mid employees sponsor selected children by purchasing wished for gifts and needed items. The event includes fun holiday activities and children have the opportunity to visit and have a photo taken with Santa.
This year a particular wish ignited a collaborative effort on campus.
“I saw a request for a ukulele and my mom also plays the ukulele, so I knew I had to make that wish come true,” shared Amy Fisher, Dean of Business and Professional Studies. “Last year I asked Eric Sander and Mid’s Computer Aided Drafting & Design students to create a custom pic for my mom and it turned out great, so I decided to reach out again.”
“We were able to create eight pics to include with the ukulele and even incorporated glow-in-the-dark filament for some extra fun,” explained Eric Sander, Full-Time Drafting Instructor at Mid.
This event showcases the high regard in which the College holds community connections, the generosity of Mid employees, and the excellent results that can be achieved when teams across the College collaborate. All families and children who attend receive gifts, dinner, and dessert, and families are also provided with the means to purchase a complete holiday meal.
“The children’s faces just light up, and that makes all of the hard work more than worth it,” explained Sarah Gariglio, Administrative Specialist to the Academic Deans and event organizer.
For more information about this annual effort, contact Sarah Gariglio at sgariglio@midmich.edu or (989) 386-6667.
The ukulele, custom pics, and Amy Fisher are pictured above.
Drafting students prepared digital production files to produce the custom pics (below).
Children listen intently to a holiday story and Mid staff pose with Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the party.
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