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GODFREY – The Freer Auto Body Cookies and Cocoa for Community Christmas was once again a way to draw the area together for the best of causes - making sure children who need it have presents under the tree when the holiday comes.
The Freer Community Christmas fundraising event took place from 5 to 7 p.m. last Thursday. Community Christmas is a key project for the Freer family and is coordinated by the United Way of Greater St. Louis each year.
“This was our ninth annual Cookies and Cocoa for Community Christmas,” said Margaret Freer, one of the owners of Freer Auto Body. “It was the favorite charity of my son, David, who passed in 2008. We have continued it on in his memory. It is always just a magical event.
“This year’s Cookies and Cocoa was a fun event. We recruited a few people to sing outside and that was a wonderful addition. It gets you in the Christmas mode. Our friends and the community have always been so good to us. We made a big variety of cookies and had homemade cocoa.
“We collected more than 40 bikes and had a lot of toys and coats for children for Christmas.”
One of the key fundraisers for Community Christmas was the Christmas in July event that raised a record of $34,000 this year for the campaign.
Taylor, 13, and Lily, 10, have developed a love of being kind and helping others, Margaret Freer said. Much of the work and ideas behind the events are those of Taylor and Lily.
Taylor Freer had a good way to sum up what the Freer family tries to do with their Community Christmas efforts each year: “We like to be able to help the less fortunate and make them feel better than they would otherwise at Christmas,” Taylor Freer said.
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