By Ashley McLeod, Staff Writer
Dec 16, 2014, 11:54
FORT LEE — Gov. Terry McAuliffe visited Fort Lee last week to take part in the Holiday Helpers program, which provides families of soldiers at the base Christmas presents and stocking stuffers for their children.
The governor helped a one mother shop for her child at the event, which held thousands of toys for the families to choose from. The Holiday Helper ‘toy store’ will serve approximately 1,000 families this year, providing them with Christmas presents which were donated by the community.
The gifts were divided into age groups, and each child was allowed to pick three presents from the available selection. The gifts are then wrapped by volunteers at the store, and the recipients are allowed to choose small gifts such as dolls and puzzles as stocking stuffers.
The Holiday Helper program serves all branches of military, and families outside of the base.
“If there’s a military affiliation and there’s a need, we will help them,” said Susan Garling, marketing coordinator for the Holiday Helpers.
The governor and first lady Dorothy McAuliffe assisted Ashley Rivera at the store, picking out gifts for her 7-year-old daughter. Rivera is an E6 in the Navy.
