TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – This Christmas, holiday cheer is reaching some of Tallahassee\u2019s most vulnerable individuals thanks to community support at the Kearney Center.<\/p>\n
Community members, churches and local organizations banded together to donate gifts that Kearney Center staff will distribute on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
Caseworkers said it\u2019s fulfilling work. That\u2019s why they got into this job, after all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end goal is housing, but to see them get little gifts and meet little milestones along the way, honestly, it just kind of makes my day and just makes me feel like what I do is really important,\u201d Audrey Lavender, housing case manager, said.<\/p>\n
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Caseworkers are hard at work, \u2018filling\u2019 Santa\u2019s sleigh with a mix of essentials, but also some wants too. They\u2019re aiming for a \u201creal\u201d Christmas effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the least we could do is show our appreciation by them going out every day, going to go look for a job, going to go look for housing, just trying to get their self in a better position to become self-sufficient,\u201d Kaniela Rhymes, housing case worker supervisor, said.<\/p>\n
Executive Director of the center, Sonya Wilson, said many of the local churches are praying with them, for them and over them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t do what we\u2019re doing without the abundance of love from this community,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
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