It may not have been the night before Christmas, but judging by the faces of more than 300 children from the Tallahassee community it could have been. The Christmas cheer filled Gaither Gymnasium during the Florida A&M University (FAMU) holiday celebration, which was hosted by President James H. Ammons and Mrs. Judy Ammons.The program benefited children from New Beginnings Child Development Center and Bond Elementary, Fairview Middle, the FAMU Developmental Research School, Oak Ridge Elementary, Griffin Middle, J. G. Riley Elementary, Nims Middle and Pineview Elementary Schools.
FAMU faculty and staff donated the gift cards, books and consoles.
Mrs. Ammons participated in the program by reading the “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
“This is wonderful and really nice,” said Twan Jackson, a parent who has a son that attends Oak Ridge Elementary. “It is a blessing to watch all of the kids receive a gift.”
One student had a smile that stretched from ear to ear when he opened his gift.
“I got a gift card to Applebee’s,” said Oshard Constable, a sixth grader at Nims Middle School. “This is great. I am coming back here next year!”
A student at Riley Elementary School expressed her excitement as well.
“I enjoyed myself,” said the fourth grader. “I did not know they [FAMU] were going to give our presents.”
Nine children were completely surprised because they were given various game consoles. Upon entering, each child was given a ticket and told that he or she would have an opportunity to win a special Christmas gift. Those gifts included two Xbox 360s with a Kinect, a Nintendo Wii, a Playstation 3, a Nintendo DS XL, a Nintendo Dsi XL, a Playstation 2 and two PSPs.
Members of the Tallahassee Girls Choir of CHOICE, the FAMU cheerleaders, FAMU Jr. Cheerleaders and the Mountain Dew Cloggers, which entertained the audience with their fancy footwork and dance moves, entertained the children.