Newtown Athletic Club
Each year, Newtown Athletic Club invites the employees of the Yellow Daffodil to decorate their 15' Christmas tree. The employees spend weeks crafting homemade ornaments to adorn the tree that sits in the lobby at the Athletic Club. NAC uses the tree as a way to make a charitable opportunity available to their members.
Woods Services' Secret Santa Program attracts close to 200 individuals and groups each year that volunteer to purchase gifts for a Woods client who will remain at Woods during the holidays. This past holiday season, NAC asked for the wish lists of 50 Woods residents to hang on their tree. The Volunteer Department at Woods got a phone call two days later asking for more wish lists because they had already been fulfilled! Members of NAC sponsored 70 residents this year. Linda Mitchell, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, said "They (members) have fun reading the requested items with their children and fulfilling a Christmas wish for a complete stranger out of the goodness of their hearts."
Members who participate bring the gifts back to NAC where they are held every year in the office area. 
The staff joyfully tiptoes around the mounds of gifts that pile up for the unsuspecting recipients. Members of the Newtown Athletic Club have been involved in Woods' Secret Santa Program for the past eight years and they don't plan to stop anytime soon! "The members love this program and so do we. We will continue to participate and quite frankly the spirit of giving this program provides are a gift to us and we are grateful!" says Mitchell.
Woods Services' Volunteer Program provides groups and individuals with meaningful volunteer experiences from which our clients benefit greatly. There are many opportunities available for both one-time and on-going commitments. For more information, please email Casey George at volunteers@woods.org.
