Turnout was big as Kansas Children’s Service League held its annual Red Stocking Breakfast at Pizza Ranch on Saturday.
The event featured a buffet-style breakfast served by local celebrities, including KVOE’s Ron Thomas and Scott Hayes, as well as a silent auction. Event co-chair Greg Bachman was pleased to see the turnout.
Proceeds benefit several different operations, including the Healthy Families program, which helps parents who may be overburdened with stress factors. Program development manager Bev Long says Healthy Families is now in 18 counties, including Lyon, Chase and Greenwood counties.
Other items funded in part through the Red Stocking Breakfast include the parent helpline, mobile app and an information campaign about the so-called period of purple crying, when babies suffer through bouts of inconsolable crying.
KCSL Board of Directors chair Margaret La Rue says events like this lead to a stronger community because of where the dollars go.
The event has been held for less than 10 years in Emporia, but its roots go back nearly 100 years. In the 1920s, residents were invited to take holiday gifts to children waiting for a foster or adoptive home. The children would then hang stockings to receive those gifts.
Fundraising totals are pending.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
{gallery}Red Stocking Breakfast Dec 1 2018{/gallery}
