The Henrico Christmas Mother: Neighbors Helping Neighbors

If you have worked for or lived in Henrico County for a while, especially around the holiday season, you may have heard of the Henrico Christmas Mother. It has become an annual tradition for the County, but do you know what it truly is or means?

It means just as their slogan says: “Neighbors Helping Neighbors .” What started in the 1940s as a schoolteacher asking her students to bring in canned goods and items to help their less fortunate peers and neighbors has expanded into a mission supported by hundreds of volunteers yearly. Today, the mission is to provide assistance in the form of food, new clothing, books, and toys to qualifying families, seniors, and disabled adults during the holiday season.

Throughout the year, the Henrico Christmas Mother Volunteer Council campaigns to raise funds and donations for participants and then, in the summer, chooses a Christmas Mother to represent them through the holiday season. In 2023, the honor went to Helen Wood, a retired Henrico County Public School teacher and lifelong County resident.

The naming of the Christmas Mother kicks off the campaign time for many County employees. Like Rebecca Slough, Co-Coordinator for the Henrico Christmas Mother, said, “For 80+ years, the Christmas Mother campaign is all about “Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” I love that our employees embrace that motto and find new ways each year to collect donations and the monies they raise.” Employees had a lot of fun coming up with fundraising ideas, baking, burger flipping, organizing, stocking groceries, and “shopping” with neighbors. In the first few weeks of December, once all the collections have been tallied, the Christmas Mother warehouse is transformed into a store of sorts for participants to “shop” for Christmas gifts for themselves or loved ones. “This is absolutely AWESOME! To volunteer in the Warehouse last week and seen everyone efforts I cried. This is amazing!” exclaimed Monica Barnette, Coordinator for Public Works.

Once again, the County Manager asked department coordinators to make this the best year yet, and county employees did not disappoint! This year, more items were collected in almost all categories as compared to last year, including over six times the number of bikes and helmets. Here are the totals of the items collected this year as to previous years:

So what does the Christmas Mother mean? It means that through the open hearts and generosity of our employees, 1,261 families, 2,800 children/teens, and 744 seniors/disabled residents were able to have a little brighter holiday.

Check out the pictures below to see employees enjoying the Christmas Mother spirit!