KNOXVILLE, Tenn. & STILLWATER, Okla.—Weigel's is celebrating its 25^th year of Weigel’s Family Christmas, an annual event supporting underprivileged children from East Tennessee. With the help of the Salvation Army, 250 children ages five to eight years old have been selected to receive $200 for a Christmas shopping spree at Target.

“We are overjoyed to be celebrating 250 kids, the most we’ve ever sponsored, and give them the joy of shopping and having a special day” said Kurt Weigel, training and recruiting director. “This has been a very special and meaningful event since we started it 25 years ago. Our volunteers are often entire families, coming together to give back to our community. We’re especially excited to see the growth of this special day.” 

Each year Weigel’s organizes and funds the event, while the Salvation Army assists in selecting children from East Tennessee communities. Since the program’s inception in 1998, over 4,600 children have received Christmas gifts through the charity.

“Twenty-five years ago, we started by bringing six kids shopping, and this year we’ve invited 250,” said Bill Weigel, chairman. “The gracious support of the many volunteers and our vendor partners makes the day possible. This event embodies the true spirit of Christmas.”

Prior to shopping, the volunteers prepare breakfast for the children, full of delicious treats at the Knoxville Expo Center. Many volunteers stay back to prepare lunch for the children, while other volunteers wait at Target to help the children with their Christmas shopping spree.

“This December is especially heartwarming to now be able to reflect on many years of our volunteers impacting the lives of these kids, as well as the kids making an impact on our volunteers,” Bill Weigel said. “We love watching the kids shop and seeing their faces light up. This day is special, filled with smiles galore and tears of joy, and it truly makes our holiday season as much as we help make theirs.”

Meanwhile, OnCue has sold thousands of specialty cups, giving 50 cents from each purchase to the store’s local school district in Oklahoma and Texas totaling over $27,500.

"The continued growth of this program blows us away each year," said Laura Aufleger, president of OnCue. "It shows our communities value education as much as we do, and we love providing this opportunity show their support."

The cup campaign ran from July to the end of September. OnCue operates stores in 24 Oklahoma school districts and one Texas district, each of which were recipients of a portion of the $27,500 gift.

This is the sixth consecutive year OnCue has offered the Support Local Schools cups, first created in response to the teacher walkout in 2018. The program has amounted to over $98,000 in donations for local schools.