VACA BOYS & GIRLS CLUB KICK OFF HOLIDAY GIVING PROJECTS

As brownies baked in the oven Monday and at least a dozen youths gathered for an academic lesson, another group of kids at the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club focused on fleece.
That’s right — as in the soft, warm material often associated with throws and hot cocoa and curling up with a good book.
The youths have just begun their annual holiday giving project and this year, there’s a lot to do.
Along with handcrafting fleece hats and scarves, the boys and girls are collecting toys, gift cards, warm clothing and food.
The aim is to keep as many people as possible warm this season, said Susan Schwartz, longtime volunteer/instructor/kid-whisperer. By creating the fleece accessories kids can meet that aim and learn a new skill, she said.
The toys are for a Christmas toy drive, the clothes another way to keep those in need, warm. The gift cards are just because and the food, well, they’ll hopefully feed two families this Christmas.
“We’d like to give at least two families turkey dinners,” Schwartz explained. That means turkeys, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, veggies, mashed potatoes and dessert.
Donations of all the items, including fleece, are very much welcomed. Deadline to contribute is Dec. 15. Drop offs will be accepted at the Club, 100 Holly Lane, during normal business hours.
Deliveries will likely be right around Christmas.
By Kimberly K. Fu, kfu@thereporter.com, @ReporterKimFu on Twitter