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Parties Mark the Holiday Season at Avondale
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| | Robert loved the watch he received. |
The holidays are a special time around Avondale House, with festive parties that put both clients and staff in the seasonal spirit.
ValvTechnologies, Inc. president Kevin Hunt and employees hosted an annual nighttime Christmas party for Avondale's 18 residential clients on December 17. In lieu of a traditional company party, ValvTechnologies employees gather with our clients and provide dinner and gifts to each resident.
"It's all about seeing how happy the clients are when receiving their gifts and sharing our blessings with them," said Audrey Ramsy, head of the charitable committee at ValvTechnologies.
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| | Students like Nico enjoyed meeting Santa! |
For our day school students, the week leading up to winter break would not be complete without a visit from the jolly old man himself. A holiday tradition at Avondale, Santa made an early stop today to deliver gifts to our clients.
Students gathered in our large multi-purpose room and waited excitedly to hear Santa call their names to come collect their presents, which were specially hand-picked based on the interests of each child. For even more Christmas cheer, students from St. Agnes Academy sang carols for each class as they ate lunch. Volunteer support and
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| | Carolers got Paul into the spirit! |
delicious boxed lunches from Chick-Fil-A were generously provided by Friends of Avondale House.
"Volunteering at the Christmas party is something I look forward to every year," said Friends of Avondale House member Suzanne Kamas. "It gives me pleasure to help out and especially to see the kids' faces light up when they see Santa."
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'Twas the Week Before Christmas Break...
Parties aren't the only way our clients and staff are celebrating the holidays this week.
Students began the week with a Christmas carol sing-a-long. Then on Tuesday, helpful sixth grade elves from St. John's middle school came to Avondale House to make holiday cards and ornaments with our students.
Our students had a great time mixing together different glitters to create ornaments as unique as they are! The St. John's students had a great time as well, as one student remarked, "it was really cool to see how, like us, the students were nervous at first but then opened up to show us their personalities. I liked seeing the different abilities of Avondale students."
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| | St. John's School sixth grade student volunteers |
Don't think that the staff would let the kids have all the fun. Of course, there was the annual "Tackiest Sweater" contest, with the most outrageous entries we've seen yet. Our festive receptionist Melody McNabb took the prize with a sweater featuring its own set of lights (see the winners here). The festivities continued on Wednesday when all classes watched the movie "Frozen" together while munching on scrumptious holiday treats.
By Thursday the holiday cheer was on full blast for our students'
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| Student Sammy was ready for
her big solo of "Let It Go." |
annual "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" performance. Students practiced the songs during music class and created the elaborate set during art class. This year, a new student soloist, Sammy, joined the stage to sing "Let it Go." True to our tradition, students and staff donned their coziest Christmas jammies for the performance. A crowd favorite was the percussion version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
From our house to yours, we wish you the happiest of holidays!
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Alex's 5K Supporters Display Giving Hearts
Christmas arrived early for Avondale House as the Houston Masters Sports Association (HMSA) through Mike Mangan presented a check for $5,000 to CEO Barbara Boyett.
HMSA proudly supports the Bayou City Road Runners (BCRR) club's efforts to honor the life of Alex Jamrich. Alex, the 17-year-old son of Milan Jamrich and Kathi Mahon (former BCRR club president) died unexpectedly one month short of his 18th birthday on May 15, 2010. He was an Avondale House client.
This year's 5th annual Alex's 5K Run/Walk was held November 14 at MacGregor Park, 5225 Calhoun, near the University of Houston.
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| Mike Mangan (HMSA Classical 25K Race Director), Barbara Boyett
and Lara Allen (Alex's 5K Race Director) |
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