The Cross Community Church gym and parking lot at 510 River St. in Cleveland were packed with hundreds of children and parents on Dec. 15 for the annual Repair the Breach Ministries’ Share Your Holiday/Angel Select event.
Nearly 900 children received gifts of toys, food and candy as made their way through the gym. They visited booths sponsored by Health Center of Southeast Texas, McDonald’s, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Entergy and Met Head Start/Early Head Start, where they received other gifts and information about services.
Repair the Breach partners with Houston Food Bank to provide food baskets for every family who signed up to receive aid, said Cheryl Driver, Repair the Breach founder. Each family received a box of canned goods, 12 pounds of frozen food items, including fish, poultry and pulled pork, dairy items and a bag of potatoes.
Repair the Breach’s Christmas event receives toy donations from Toys for Tots and monetary donations from the community, Driver said.
“We started in 2007 in the private sector. We started showing up at the homes of families where we knew they didn’t have enough to get through the holidays,” Driver said. “We helped 50 children the first year. Then it grew quickly to what it is today.”
This year Toys for Tots allotted enough toys to accommodate 1,000 children, Driver said, though she was a little hesitant to sign up 1,000 knowing that last-minute requests for help are a certainty every year.
“We had 897 children registered by the day of our event. We had more who came in our office for assistance the following week. A little more than 900 children were helped by the time Christmas arrived,” she said.
Many of the families assisted by Repair the Breach are single-parent households, Driver said.
“Others have lost their jobs or had a death in the family. There are many people in our community who have fallen on hard luck,” she said. “We know the stories behind their households because we have dealt with them previously.”
Organizations, individuals and businesses sponsoring the event include McDonald’s, Cross Church, El Burrito, The Clay Family, NAPA, Walmart, H-E-B, The Big Kahuna, Prosperity Bank, Green Bank, Pace-Stancil Funeral Home, Health Center of Southeast Texas, Cleveland ISD JROTC, Livingston Pediatric Clinic, St Mary’s Catholic and Entergy.
Hundreds of people line up to enter Cross Community Church for the Repair the Breach Christmas event on Dec. 15. 
Rafael Driver (left) oversees the distribution of food at the Repair the Breach Christmas event on Dec. 15 at Cross Community Church. 
St. Mary’s Catholic Church’s booth offered cookies and diapers to families as they made their way through Cross Community Church’s gym for Repair the Breach’s annual Christmas event. 
Esther Botella and Nancy Resendiz share information about Met Head Start and Early Head Start during Repair the Breach’s Christmas event on Dec. 15 at Cross Community Church in Cleveland. 
Tracey Brodur with Entergy visits with families at the Christmas event for Repair the Breach on Dec. 15 in Cleveland. Entergy adopted 8-10 families this year through Repair the Breach. 
Ashley Bridwell, Ashley Cotten, Antionette Butler, Anita Butler and Robin Bridwell handed out toys at the Christmas event for Repair the Breach on Dec. 15 inside Cross Community Church’s gym in Cleveland. 
McDonald’s handed out warm cookies to all the children at the Christmas event for Repair the Breach on Dec. 15 in Cleveland. 
Kim Hughes with the Health Center of Southeast Texas hands out gifts to children at the Repair the Breach’s Christmas event on Dec. 15 at Cross Community Church. 