The Santa Bus

On Tuesday, December 19, 2017, we will conduct our first-ever Gemma's Angels Santa Bus at Interfaith Shelter for Homeless Families in Harrisburg. The event is sponsored by Innovative Coaches and Lowee's Group Tours.

At 9:30 p.m. (after all the children have visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads, of course) the parents of the children there will board the coach and choose toys for their children. Afterward, our volunteers will go into the shelter and provide free gift paper, supplies and assist the parents as needed with gift wrapping. From there, the toys will be hidden until Santa returns Christmas Eve. (Shhhhhh!) Volunteers must be age 16 or older but if ages 16 or 17, they must be accompanied by an adult.

What we need: 

• Volunteers to help pack the coach in Hershey at 8:30 PM (location at 15 East Main Street, Hershey, PA 17033 in the Village of Union Deposit, just north of HersheyPark)
• Volunteers to help staff the coach at 9:30 PM when parents come on board and choose the toys for their children.
• Donors to purchase toys for the various ages, from infants to age 18 OR the funds to allow our volunteers to do the shopping.

Click here to volunteer

Click here to donate a toy or to contribute money toward a toy

 How the event will work

Toys will be separated on the coach by age. Volunteers will check the parent's & child's names on a list we provide to make certain that they receive the toys they reserved. It will be first-come, first served. Parents are permitted to exchange gifts between themselves for their children. Once inside the shelter, our volunteers will provide gift wrap, tape and other supplies. Volunteers should feel free to help as needed. Donations of cookies, iced tea or fruit drinks are welcome.

If you have any questions, contact Santa Bus Event Coordinator is Lori Silar Zarefoss, her email is: zarefosslori@gmail.com, and phone number is: 717 639-1341. Her preferred method of contact is by email.

THANK YOU to our sponsors!

A very special THANK YOU to Brent & Chrissie Kelly of Innovative Coaches and Lowee's Group Tours for their sponsorship of their event! Does your group have a tour or coach need? Give them a call for professional service for your group, business or church for any type of tour and Innovative Coaches features the most technologically advanced coaches in the region!

Innovative Coaches: https://www.innovativecoaches.com/
Lowee's Group Tours: https://www.lowees.com/

Any surplus funds after we purchase the toys, food and supplies for the Christmas events will be put towards fulfilling our mission of providing fresh fruits and vegetables to the hungry of Lebanon and Dauphin Counties. Click here for info on our mission.

DONOR PRIVACY POLICY

Gemma's Angels will not trade, share or sell a donor's personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations and/or we will only share personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so. An example would be if we conducted an event which involved a sponsor and the sponsor required a donor's name to complete a registration or award of a prize.