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Grand Canyon, AZ
January 6, 2025
Santa and Mrs. Claus are joined by American Legion Family members during the annual Christmas program. From left: Scott Miller (Legion), Rebecca Rocha (ALA), Mrs. Claus, ALA District 7 President Ellen Hampton, Santa, Shannon Mead (ALA) and Cory Mead Sr. (SAL).
The American Legion Family at Grand Canyon celebrated Christmas with young children from local schools as part of their annual Christmas Giving Program. The Squire Hotel in Tusayan, Ariz., has been our host for our program and always has a great setup for the children. This includes decorations, milk and cookies, gift bags and mini fun projects to do while waiting to visit with Santa.
The morning started with a helicopter landing from Santa and Mrs. Claus in the parking lot of the hotel. From there, they joined the children in a conference room that was decorated with a Christmas theme. During this time children were invited to participate in fun activities, enjoy milk and cookies (provided by the Squire Hotel), and, of course, pictures and gifts with Santa and Mrs. Claus in front of the fireplace and Christmas tree.
Each child got a hug and pictures with Santa as well as Mrs. Claus while also receiving a goody bag filled with candy, learning toys, and handmade scarves. These scarves were knitted and crocheted by the Auxiliary unit’s members throughout 2024. One of our members, Rebecca Rocha, has helped to make over 1,000 scarves and hats over the last five years!
Participating members this year were Rocha, Shannon Mead, Cory Mead and Scott Miller, all members of the American Legion Family (Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion). We also had a special guest from our District level, District President Ellen Hampton.
Our Christmas program first started over 20 years ago with cute little candy canes and a goody bag with fruit and snacks for each child, and has progressed into so much more with the help of our American Legion Family as well as the Squire Hotel.
The participating schools were the Kaibab Learning Center and Grand Canyon Elementary School.
Visit our website at grandcanyonpost42.org for more information about our Legion Family.