Celebrating the Holidays at EP!C

EP!C poinsettias decorating the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year as I join the millions of others taking part in the holiday festivities- attending parties, buying gifts for family and friends, and giving back to the community. Luckily, I have found that EP!C shares the same enthusiasm for the holidays. There seems to be a continuous stream of exciting and unique events going on in all corners of EP!C in celebration of the holidays, ranging from the annual poinsettia sale to making and decorating Christmas trees to donating toys and games to the Children's Hospital. So grab your mug of hot cocoa (with whipped cream if you're like me, though I'll leave that up to you) and take a look at the ways EP!C has been celebrating and impacting the lives of individuals and the community.

One of the completed trees welcoming
 EP!C employees and visitors

Marcus lining up for his turn to paint the tree

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The individuals in room 152 helped us kick off the holidays by creating Christmas trees from recycled wooden pallets, Christmas trees that now warmly welcome anyone to EP!C!

Limestone High students pitching in to get
 EP!C into the holiday spirit

The Early Ford V8 Club helping to stuff
stockings for the individuals

We also had a number of volunteers help us celebrate by decorating the hallways, making ornaments and personalized stockings with the individuals, and stuffing stockings for the individuals. Bradley students, Limestone High School students, members of the Early Ford V8 Club, and volunteers from OSF generously offered their time to brighten our holidays. EP!C individuals joined in the giving spirit, too, as they gave back by donating two big bags of toys to the Children's Hospital!

A volunteer from OSF on Rt. 91 doing
 arts and crafts with Devon

Tim and one of the Bradley volunteers
decorating personalized stockings

The Host Family program did hold back either in their celebrations. EP!C welcomed individuals and their host families for an evening of fun, cheer, and fantastic food.

The Host Family Program is all smiles
 at a big holiday get-together.

The staff at EP!C even got to have a bit of fun, too. We joined in the celebrations with a delicious buffet lunch and raffles. We were even treated to beautiful caroling and live guitar and saxophone music.

Eric and Amanda spread the holiday cheer
with their enthusiasm at the EP!C
holiday party.