Just before the Santa Claus parade, the kids joined other youth groups from around the city, to get the the gifts that they would hand out to other kids in the crowd along the downtown parade route.
"Today is our annual help for the city of Kingsport, giving treats and things to the crowd at the Santa Claus parade," says New Vision Youth director Johnnie Mae Swagerty. "We do this every year, working with the the Chamber of Commerce and Keep Kingsport Beautiful.. they ask us every year, along with other kids' organizations. It's always a big project for us, and we do it with love and joy and thanks giving."
"The kids will get about 4 or 5 backpacks and they'll go through the crowd with bags of fruit, giving them out to kids, ages 3 to 14 years old," says Swagerty. "The backpacks are different colors for different age groups, and the other kids are glad to get them."
"The Santa Claus Train goes through the coalfields giving out toys and gifts to the needy," she says. "Just like many of the kids along the train route, some of the kids that come to the parade, may not hardly anything for Christmas, and they may not know that somebody is thinking about them. We are, and that's why we volunteer to do this every year, after the train trip and during the parade. We don't miss anybody.. we even go over to the area where the challenged kids are, that may be unable to catch any of the candy or gifts that are tossed out into the crowd."
Once the kids are done spreading holiday cheer, it's on to enjoying the parade themselves!
