BOCA RATON, Fla. — Local nonprofits banded together on Christmas Day for the seventh year in a row to make the holidays brighter for hundreds of underserved families in Palm Beach County.
For one family of four, the Christmas Day feast at the Town Center at Boca Raton has become a family tradition, one they say they otherwise wouldn't be able to afford.
"It really provides a special moment when your budget's tight and your regular pay or weekly living paycheck to paycheck, all that money is going towards the important stuff, the rent and roof over your head," Rhea Fuller, who participated in the event, said. "But you still want to create these special moments for your kids, lots of memories and something special in their life."
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Organizers with Boca Helping Hands and the Town Center at Boca Raton said they wanted to make sure the day was about more than a free meal.
The Christmas Day feast featured a flannel and frost theme, complete with festive red table linens and fresh flowers on the table.
"This is typically underserved families," Gregory Hazel, the executive director of Boca Helping Hands, said. "Many of them are working but are underpaid and so to them the experience of Christmas might be even more challenging because they see everybody receiving and giving, and they can't afford to do all of that."
About 500 people were selected by the local nonprofit to take part, and organizers said it takes more than 100 volunteers to make it all happen.