For many years, the Spencerville VFW Clown Unit has been bringing smiles to the faces of children in the area with their Annual Underprivileged Children’s Christmas Party. It’s a special time for these kids who might not have a lot to look forward to around the holidays and it’s been a tradition for a while.
"Every year since December 1980, we've held this Christmas party, and we've taken care of more than 5,000 children - including today, more than 5,300 children," said "Herbie" the Clown (whose real name is George Cox), who was the Event Coordinator.
Children from all over the area are sponsored by different crisis centers and children’s services, who buy the presents for the kids. Those running the show say that the party wouldn’t be the same without the sponsors to help out.
"We could not have this party without our beautiful sponsors that we have here today," Cox said. "The people in this area have just been tremendous to support the kids, to buy the kids their gifts."
All of the children might be getting presents, but they’re not the only ones who are getting something out of being part of this event.
"I think that a lot of people volunteer for this because it's their way of giving back; those who have more, sometimes it's hard to find a way that you know your money, your time, your effort is going to go to a good place - and this is the place," said Jessica Hollar, Senior Vice Commander of the Spencerville VFW.
Of course, this isn’t the only event that the clown unit covers, but they say it’s one of their favorites.
"We do a lot of charity work, our clowns, we go to our nursing homes every month and entertain the good folks in our nursing homes, so we do a lot of charity work throughout the year; this is our biggest thing," said Cox.
