Cindy Mayron
The fifth annual Holiday Gift Bag and Blanket drive for Youth on Their Own (YOTO) will be collected and displayed at The Women of Quail Creek (TWOQC) Holiday Luncheon on Dec. 9 (see the article in this issue). “This is the time of the year we can help the youth in our area who are on their own have a little special holiday gift and to know someone is thinking of them,” said Sue Ann Obremski, YOTO chair. “Last year, we supplied holiday bags to all the Pima County YOTO middle school students and 200-plus blankets and gift cards for the high school students. The bags were prominently displayed on the Madera Ballroom stage at last year’s holiday luncheon,” she added.
The YOTO committee members hand-made 400 festive holiday cards with instructions on what to buy for each age group—200 middle school students and 200 high school students—to help give them a merrier Christmas. At last month’s annual membership luncheon, TWOQC members had the opportunity to choose a card for a middle school or high school YOTO student.
The remaining cards will be distributed to TWOQC members who did not attend the luncheon and to all Quail Creek residents. It is estimated that there will be 2000 students in the 2019-20 YOTO program in Pima County this year. Although the annual School Supplies Drive is county-wide, the Holiday Gift Bag program is a TWOQC-only project.
“The cards we hand out have the specific buying instructions tailored to each age group and includes a list of suggested items for the Holiday bag and the preferred gift cards to purchase, with the bag’s costs not to exceed $50,” Obremski added.
If you would like to get a holiday card (with the details on how to donate a Holiday gift), contact Sue Ann Obremski at [email protected].