Our families are so grateful for your support!
Over 99% of our budget is used for making sure local Oglethorpe County children have the necessities needed throughout the year, and some fun items to bring joy at Christmas. We are an all-volunteer non-profit organization, and have been serving children living in Oglethorpe County since 1996.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Our goal is to ensure ALL children in our community have a safe place to live, with water and electricity, clothing, and some fun gifts to experience God’s amazing love at Christmas. You can help make the holidays a little brighter for local children from struggling families by:
• Making a financial donation either through our donation page, or at The Commercial Bank in Crawford, or mailed to Community Christmas of Oglethorpe County, Inc. 143 Bowen Farm Rd. Crawford, GA 30630.
• Donating toys and other fun items for children from infants through teens through one of our toy drives at Toys for Tots, The Commercial Bank in Crawford, Oglethorpe County Schools, Oglethorpe Children’s Academy, or The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office with Public Safety.
Community Christmas is a member of Charity Tracker, which unites charities in the Athens area to ensure assistance provided is given responsibly and accounted for across agencies. Families requesting assistance are carefully screened.
We are an all-volunteer non-profit registered with the State of Georgia and the Internal Revenue Service, serving children living in poverty in Oglethorpe County since 1996. We are able to keep our overhead at around 1 % due to the hard work of our volunteers and the generosity of our community. We are grateful to Crawford Baptist Church who have been hosting our operation for many years.
In 2025, we helped 408 children from 174 households with the total value of assistance $115,982!
Additionally, we are a sponsoring agency for The Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. For the 2025-2026 school year, in conjunction with the Oglethorpe County School System, we funded 9 monthly pantries, distributing $275-350 worth of food to an average of 73 families per distribution. This has a value of ~$22,813 per distribution for a total value of $205,313 over nine months at a cost of $4,400 paid by donations to Community Christmas designated for the Food Bank.
Diapers are given throughout the year to keep our youngest ones clean and comfy through our partnership with the Athens Area Diaper Bank, in cooperation with the Oglethorpe County School System. We distributed 20,810 diapers with a value of $8,324 in 2025.
In addition to keeping this whole train running and coordinating with everyone, our Co-chair Shirley Dillard (706-540-0785) manages storage space at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office for donated furniture, appliances, and other household goods.
Your help is needed and greatly appreciated. The sooner, the better!
With Peace, Hope, and Joy,
Catherine Bowen Drewry
Co- chair, Community Christmas of Oglethorpe County, Incorporated
706-201-7241 OglethorpeCommunityChristmas@gmail.com