Project Cheer brings Christmas celebration to local families
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Santa Claus hands a gift to Melody, 3, of Shenandoah at the annual Project Cheer event in GIlberton Saturday.
GILBERTON – Several families in need received some help to celebrate the holidays Saturday, thanks to the annual Project Cheer effort.
Project Cheer began in 2018 when Tony Kankowski, a Frackville police officer, and his wife Heather, set out to help a family in need in the police department’s coverage area, which includes Frackville and Gilberton.
In the years since, the effort has grown from serving one family to serving six.
“We’re looking to expand it more and more,” Heather Kankowski said.
“Little by little, we’ll see how it goes, depending on donors,” Tony added.
Each family receives a Christmas dinner and gifts for the children, as well as gift cards to local businesses.
As for how each family is selected, Heather Kankowski said, “Somebody nominated them. They all have a story of why they needed help this year, and we were more than happy to help each one of them.”
“I’m sure there’s a lot more [families in need], but we’re limited as to what we can do,” Tony added.
The children involved write letters to Santa, and received replies.
“They were ecstatic. The mom’s called me and said they were so ecstatic,” Heather Kankowski said. “One kid actually ripped off the address and ran around the house saying ‘I now have his address!'”
A celebration was held Saturday afternoon at the Continental Fire Co. in Gilberton, where volunteers provided pizza and soda to the effort’s beneficiaries. Their children also visited Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, who provided gifts and told stories.
This year, the effort expanded to include Shenandoah, with the help of Shenandoah Borough Police.
Patrolman Mindy Petrus said she’d frequently seen one of the chosen borough families while out on patrol.
“These kids are great. They don’t have a backyard to play in and they’re always out front on the sidewalk and I love talking to them because they’re so receptive to us, and I just want them to know that if they every need anything, that we’re there for them,” Petrus said. “It’s more about community policing than anything.”
“It’s just showing them not to be afraid of police and showing our community that we’re out there not just to patrol and deal with crime,” Petrus added. “It’s to kind of humanize the badge and show them the good side of it. This is the great part of my job, this is the part that I love doing. Giving back.”
Another family from Shenandoah was the Alvarez family, who lost their home in a two-alarm house fire in November. Melissa and Isaiah Alvarez and their children, Layla, 2, Zayne, and Zayden, both 3 months, were displaced by the blaze, along with Isaiah’s brother, Justin, and children Aiviana, 7, and Legend, 4.
“We’re overwhelmed with how much support we’ve gotten from the whole town,” Melissa Alvarez said, of both Project Cheer and the outpouring of support since the fire. “We didn’t expect it at all, and we’re just so thankful. We don’t know how to put it into words.”
“This is very, very nice. It takes a lot of weight off our shoulders, especially being so near to Christmas,” Alvarez added. “[The kids are] having fun. They don’t know what’s going on and that’s all that matters.”
Christina Carls, Frackville, and her children, Jacob, 9, and Christopher, 3, were also beneficiaries.
“I got a phone call and for them to get letters from Santa Claus, it’s the first time they got letters from Santa, and they were so excited to be able to come here today. I like it,” Carls said. “It’s a different experience. I never even knew about Project Cheer before.”
Heather and Tony Kankowski both expressed gratitude for the donors who made the effort possible. Donors included businesses from Shenandoah, Frackville, and Ringtown, along with corporations from the Highridge Industrial Park and Schuylkill Haven.
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