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Christmas Beyond the Toys was an event we hosted at Hertz Arena, where families could experience a free night of Christmas joy. There was so much to do between ice skating, face painting, photos with Santa, hot cocoa & cookies donated by Crumbl, and visiting with the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, & Elsa! Children and teens, many who have never ice skated before, braved the ice, leaning on one another and feeling empowered as they slowly grasped the ability to make their way around the rink. We watched as kids fell down and got back up, as bigger kids helped younger kids, and as everyone cheered each other on. It was a true picture of the resilience of these children and the power of community.

Children moved through our gift room where they could choose a stuffed animal and receive a gift bag for their family that had a pair of PJs for each child and some items to make more Christmas memories at home. First Naples made sure every child went home with a Love Box full of incredible gifts as well! It was a highlight for sure! It was an emotional night at times, seeing siblings in different homes reunited for the evening, caregivers loving on the kids in their care, and children overjoyed by the outpouring of generosity by their community.

We have so many sponsors, donation drive partners, vendors who donated their time and services, and nearly 50 volunteers to thank for making this event possible for these families. We are so grateful for how the Village came together for this!

 “Absolutely amazing event. So much fun. I loved that there were helpers for ice skating... The gifts were amazing. It was just so nice to give the kids the opportunity to participate in a Christmas event like this.” - Caregiver

Thank you, Alicia Michelle Photography, for capturing these amazing photos from the event!!