SHARING THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The DP Fox Ventures family of companies – including the Grand Rapids Griffins, Fox Insurance Agency and nine Fox Motors affiliates – adopted the students of William C. Abney Academy for the holidays, hosting seven different Christmas parties for 471 kindergarten-through-fifth-grade children on Thursday, Dec. 17.

DP Fox employees purchased a toy for every child, while the generosity of several local companies provided snacks, beverages, goodie bags and door prizes for each party, along with a William C. Abney Academy t-shirt for each child. Each party featured its own special touches, from photos with “Santa Griff” and Christmas movies, to carol singing and a variety of holiday craft projects.

“One of our dealerships adopted a school last year, and we thought that expanding the effort to include our other affiliates would be a great way for us to give back to the community,” said Dan DeVos, president and CEO of DP Fox Ventures. “I think our employees enjoyed it just as much as the kids did, and we look forward to doing this again next year.”

Highlights of each party included:

Griffins/DP Fox Ventures/Fox Insurance Agency (78 kindergartners-second graders) – Children had their photos taken with “Santa Griff” at Van Andel Arena, received a Griffins winter hat, and made craft wreaths and Christmas cards in Santa’s Workshop.

Delta Imports (50 first graders) and Fox Nissan/Acura (52 second graders) – Children sat on Santa’s lap, painted car ornaments, made Christmas cards and a hand-print craft, and listened to a reading of “The Polar Express.”

Fox Ford/Mazda/Saab (125 third-fifth graders) – Children met Santa, enjoyed a magic show, sang carols and received an activity booklet.

Fox Honda (77 kindergartners-second graders) – Children received gifts from and had photos taken with Santa, made their own stockings and watched Christmas movies.

Fox Hyundai/Kia (65 third and fifth graders) – Children took shots at a basketball hoop and enjoyed playing on two Nintendo Wii systems set up on large-screen TVs.

Fox Pontiac/Buick/GMC (24 fourth graders) – Children met “Santa’s Oldest Elf,” received stockings with their name, enjoyed Christmas stories and carols, and received toys such as footballs for all the boys, teddy bears for all the girls, and a Monopoly game for each child.

William C. Abney Academy, located at 1435 E. Fulton Street, is a charter school funded by the Grand Rapids Public Schools. In 2006, the academy was nominated for the “School of Excellence Award” by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, finishing as one of four finalists out of 230 charter schools in the state.

The majority of the academy’s students come from underprivileged homes in the Grand Rapids area, with 98 percent qualifying and receiving free hot lunch through the state-funded program.

“The smiles and joy that DP Fox and its employees gave our students is a true Christmas blessing,” said Beth Scarbrough, the academy’s curriculum coordinator. “It was such a wonderful event for our students and brought them so much happiness. Some of the children were given the only toy they will receive for Christmas.”