PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the holiday shopping season ramps up, Central Division Victim Services in North Philadelphia offers an opportunity to give to those who may find it difficult to celebrate this year.
CDVS works with victims of violence and trauma in the city’s ninth and 22nd police districts. It’s looking for individuals to sponsor children who may be dealing with trauma or the effects of violence.
“Their normalcy was almost ripped away from them that day or that specific incident that that victimization occurred,” explained Gabrielle Rainey, director of Victim Services.
“There's always going to be some form of trauma that they are experiencing, but when we're looking at a [child] and having their youth almost ripped away from them in an act of violence, the least we could do is try to give them a sense of some holiday magic.”
CDVS is collecting unused gifts in their original packaging, which can be dropped off at their North Philadelphia offices, at 1538 Cecil B. Moore Avenue location. It also accepts donations via their website.
“The average cost of a gift per child is between $60 to $75 so we are either looking for one or the other, or even a combination of the both,” said Rainey.
“The amount of people, just in the past week or so that I have been calling to let them know they've been approved to receive gifts, the amount of happy tears and just the simple thank you,” she shared, “that says enough.”