Volunteers hang lights at a home in SOS Children's Villages - Florida

December 23, 2009: Each December, neighbors and friends who support SOS Children's Villages - Florida come together to create a beautiful holiday gift for the dozens of boys and girls who call the Village home. They literally "Light Up the Village" for the holidays.

The annual event invites special friends -- businesses, civic groups, and families -- to "adopt" one of the Village's homes by decorating it with lights and wreaths for children, staff and visitors to enjoy. This year, 15 groups brought close to 200 volunteers to SOS on Saturday, December 5, to hang more than 90,000 glowing lights on homes, trees and bushes around the Village.

"There is nothing better than sharing the holidays with a child," says SOS Chief Development Officer Debbie Levine. "Some of our foster children are celebrating the holidays for the first time. 'Light Up the Village' is our chance to share this special time with the community that gives so much to help our kids."

With decorating complete and the lights shining bright, the SOS families continued to celebrate into the evening with a holiday party in the SOS Community Center, hosted for the second year by Melitta USA. As the children gathered around the newly decorated Christmas tree and enjoyed the party, they were already dreaming of their holiday wish list and excited about the fun activities that would come with their winter break.

SOS offers hope worldwide during the holidays and all year long

SOS Children's Villages will rescue many children from abandonment this holiday season in 500 Villages across 131 countries.  Nourishing food, safe homes and caring SOS mothers are just a few of the many benefits SOS provides.  Through donations to SOS Children's Villages, supporters give the gift of love through family strengthening programs, medical care, and community centers that help children and adults around the world and throughout the year.

You can help one child today.  Please make a donation to SOS Children's Villages.

SOS Children's Villages - Florida is home to dozens of foster children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment. The Village setting allows brothers and sisters, often separated in foster care, to be reunited. The nurturing and support that SOS provides prepares them to be productive members of society. SOS is accredited by the Council of Accreditation, recognizing its continuing high standards and the quality services provided to foster children. 

Some of the organizations who helped decorate the homes and delivered holiday gifts to SOS Children's Villages - Florida included the Bluegreen Corporation; the Florida Marlins Community Foundation; the Kiwanis Clubs of Coral Springs; Greater Sunrise, Lauderdale Lakes, and Tamarac; NAAAHR; NCCI Holdings; New City Presbyterian Church; Phi Theta Kappa, Broward College; Sandy Slomin and friends; Sara Martinez and family; the Syracuse University Alumni Club of South Florida; United Healthcare; and UPS.