Elizabeth Peabody House, of Somerville to provide Holiday Gifts to 300 children in Cambridge, Boston and Somerville.
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The Elizabeth Peabody House (Peabody House), is currently in the final stages of planning its annual Holiday Gift giveaway.  Starting on Sunday December 19, 2010 they will be providing gifts to 50 children from the Cambridge Youth Programs at the Massasoit Elk’s Lodge # 129 located at 55 Bishop Richard Allen Drive in Cambridge from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  On Tuesday December 21, 2010 they will be distributing toys to children at the Tynan Community Center in South Boston, SCALE in Somerville and The Margaret Fuller House and The Young Peoples project of Cambridge.   On Wednesday December 22, 2010 the Peabody House will host a holiday celebration for 100 children at the Elizabeth Peabody House located at 277 Broadway in Somerville. EPH’s goal is to spread some holiday cheer to children in need from Somerville and the Greater Boston area.

“Over the course of three days, we anticipate providing gifts to 300 children from Boston, Cambridge, Somerville,” said Selvin Chambers, Executive Director of the Elizabeth Peabody House.  “It’s important to help ensure that as many children as possible can have a good holiday, but we wouldn’t be able to do it without the ongoing support of our individual donors, corporate sponsors and our community partners.”
Moreover, this year’s distribution differs from last year’s gifts gives away due to the fact that agency had received more gift donations over previous years.  Thanks to the Elizabeth Peabody House’s dedicated staff, board and community volunteers, who helped make this all possible.
Families were initially selected from the Peabody House’s present program participants in order to meet the needs of the immediate community.  Following this selection, families from surrounding communities were recommended by service agencies and local public schools, such as The Cambridge Youth Programs, Cambridge Elks Lodge; the final selection of families has been chosen by lottery.   Recipients will be contacted to pick up their gifts at one of the selected sites, on the days listed above.
Peabody House has been hosting the gift giveaways as part of supporting the broader community by extending its services to those who normally access the agency’s resources. Therefore partnering with local community agencies is a natural fit for the Peabody House. “Our community focus aligns our agency’s Mission and Vision with the activities that take place at the Peabody House day in and day out” said Chambers.  “It’s also great that we are able to go back to the community at large over the holidays to help provide a gift to children and families in need.”
For more information please contact Paul Kuhne at (617) 623-5510 or pkuhne@elizabethpeabodyhouse.org.

About Elizabeth Peabody House
Elizabeth Peabody House was founded as a settlement house in 1896 as a memorial to Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, whose dedication to the care of children led to the founding of the first kindergarten system in America. Originally established in the West End of Boston, EPH provided programs and services for immigrants and community residents including citizenship classes and social work services. Today, the Elizabeth Peabody House is located in Ten Hills, and supports families in our community in reaching their full potential through early childhood education, youth development and enrichment, and family services, including high-quality day care, preschool, after-school programming, a summer day camp and an emergency food pantry. Please visit www.elizabethpeabodyhouse.org for more information