Macy's and Tabitha's House treat dozens of children to holiday shopping spree
HARFORD COUNTY -- A major retailer is teaming up with Tabitha's House—a local non-profit and thrift store on a mission.
Together they helped children and families in need by taking them holiday shopping on Saturday morning.
"Rather than just purchase a toy and give it to a child, which we all know is very important, if we give them the opportunity to come to a place where they can walk a mini red carpet and have the opportunity to be waited on and treated like rock stars," Patrice Hooper, the director of Tabitha's House, said.
Macy's is teaming up with Tabitha's House to give almost 100 children a shopping spree inside of their store at Harford Mall.
"You know, they don't get to go to fun fancy places—and this is an opportunity for them to really dream," Hooper said.
Tabitha's House helps hundreds of people in Harford County who are in need every year, in addition to operating stores in Fallston and Edgewood.
"Almost 9% of the people in this county are at or below the poverty level, but the next 30% are just slightly above that; 45% of them are going to food banks all the time," Hooper said. "It's that $35,000 to $45,000 range that really isn't supporting a family anymore."
Inside Macy's, volunteers helped kids pick out items like shoes, clothes, and toys.
"The kids get to see a variety of things being offered to them. Some things they would not be able to see are some exciting new things that they may be interested in getting," Debbie Blackwell, a manager at Tabitha's House at Edgewood, said.
"I actually get to meet the children and see the children and the families, and the best part of Tabitha's House is really, really the people," Monica Vidal, a long-time volunteer at Tabitha's House, said.
