Kim Brown is the 2012 Bath Christmas Mother

Hot Springs, Va. –

The 2012 Bath Christmas Mother is Kim Brown of Ashwood. Brown says she feels extremely blessed and honored to be asked to coordinate the effort, calling it a wonderful opportunity to serve the community.

“I really am going to enjoy working with everybody,” says Brown. “Not just the people in the shop or the people coordinating the efforts, but the community members. We’ve been here since 2000, and I haven’t met as many people as I would like to meet. And I look forward to being with people in the community. That’s a joy.”

As Christmas Mother, Brown will oversee the work that will make the Christmas season brighter for many in Bath County.

“The Christmas Mother Program provides Christmases for those who are in need,” says Brown. “Sometimes there’s money left over for fuel assistance starting in January, the latter part of January. But we provide some basic needs to the community. We can hopefully get some gifts out also, but food and the necessities are what we concentrate on.”

Last year the program helped 142 families and 326 individuals. Applications for assistance will be accepted in mid October. The Christmas Mother Shop at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will open for about two weeks, beginning the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Distribution day will be in mid December and fuel assistance will be provided after the first of the year. You can help by adopting a family or an individual. Or you can be a shopper for the program or help wrap gifts at the Christmas Mother shop.

“This year we’re going to be starting, or continuing, some new ideas that Angie put in play last year,” says Brown. “We’re going to have star trees in places throughout the community, maybe in the bank or the post office. I have to work on where we’re going to place those trees. Look for those trees, it’s like an angel tree, so you can adopt off of that. That’s something new. We’re hoping to get a Facebook page up so we can keep the public updated on what’s going on and different ways that you can help. Put wish lists on our Facebook page so that everybody can be aware of the standing in the program.”

Brown has volunteered with the program in the past and worked as a shop manager last year.

“It’s a massive undertaking to get all parts of the service done,” says Brown. “To get the food baskets coordinated, to get the gift baskets coordinated. It’s a big undertaking but there’s so many people that are supportive and work hard to get that done. But I think that will be our biggest effort and challenge.”

Applications for assistance through the Christmas Mother Program will be accepted Tuesday October 16th and Tuesday October 23rd at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Hot Springs from 9 to 4 and again on Wednesday October 24th from 4 until 8. Applications will be accepted in the Millboro area on Wednesday October 17th at Woodland Church from 2 until 6.

For more information on the Christmas Mother Program contact Kim Brown at 679-9759 or email kimbrown12@tds.net.