NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Dozens of volunteers from all over the Charleston area are embracing the spirit of giving this Christmas by handing out gifts and meals to less fortunate areas of the community.
Birthday Party for Jesus Charleston is an interfaith non-profit organization involving churches, businesses, community groups and individuals who volunteer and donate to those in need.
Clayton Heineman is a pastor for New Hope Church of Charleston. He organized the Christmas toy drive Wednesday but said he had plenty of help from multiple churches in the area, along with a large group of community volunteers.
With the help of those volunteers, Heineman said they were able to fill up Santa's sleigh with more than 1,000 presents this year.
"It makes me feel great. I was homeless at one time, so I know what it's like to be homeless and without. As the Lord had allowed me to be funded and everything else and raised me up, that's what I love to do, is to give back to the community. That's a lot of other people, too. Is just wanting to give back because they know what it's like," he said.
Heineman was joined by an army of support Wednesday morning to help him hand out the gifts and food. The group met for some final preparations before they made their way to Rebecca Street in North Charleston, where they began their day of philanthropy.
He said some helpers showed up at St. Marks Church at 7:00 a.m. Christmas morning to make the food trays and wrap toys. Heineman added that one volunteer took the time to cook about 25 Boston Butts for the trays.
"In the [food] bags, we have pulled pork sandwiches, a cookie, a bag of chips and a water. We asked people to donate pulled pork or donate a cookie or whatever. There were lots of people that had baked cookies and took the time out to bring a dozen here, a dozen there," Heineman said.
He said thanks to the enormous effort of everyone involved, they were able to make more than 1,000 plates of food to give out this Christmas and ensure everyone gets to enjoy a delicious dinner.
"It was the most incredible thing to see people giving back to the community on Christmas Day, coming there at 7:00 AM to take care of all these things, to make the food and wrap toys and all these last-minute things to make this possible. It was incredible," Heineman said.
He added that one of the churches working with him donated and collected around a thousand bags of chips.
For some Charleston-area neighborhoods, Santa's sleigh looked a little different this year but still had just as much magic to offer.
The team said their mobile crews will visit five different neighborhoods in the area this Christmas and spend the day helping those in need.
Dozens of children and a few adults walked away from the charity event with bikes, bears, basketballs and more.
"It makes me feel really great because as you've seen the little boy today, and he had that bike, and he was just so excited. When he saw that bike, that was something that he wanted for Christmas. That's the reason for the season is these kids getting what they want for Christmas. The price of everything is going so sky high and people can't afford it. Like you said, some people can't even afford a gift. So today was the reason to give out," he said.
Destiny is one North Charleston resident who came out to the toy drive. She said she's a single mother and the struggles of raising a child on her own made her worry that her daughter would wake up to an empty tree on Christmas morning.
"For me and my daughter, being a single parent and doing it alone, it is definitely a blessing because there's a lot of parents that's in the same shoes as me as well," Destiny said.
She said the strangers who devoted their time and worked to make Wednesday's event possible, are the true gifts.
"Being able to wake up on Christmas morning and knowing that you don't have the funds to give back to your child, it is heartbreaking. But knowing that you do have people out there to help you to give back to the community with other people that face the same problems as I do, it's absolutely a blessing," Destiny said.
She said this time of year isn't just about receiving, but it's about giving back too, and she hopes to instill the same caring demeanor in her daughter.
"I'm absolutely blessed today. We're always blessed, no matter the situation," Destiny said.
Heineman said Wednesday's donation initiative is all about building relationships with communities.
"Prior to [Wednesday's charity drive], there were a lot of donations, a lot of running around, collecting things, a lot of prayer. Took a lot of prayer to get this, but God provides all our needs. He's an amazing God," he said.
Heineman shared he used to be homeless, and at one point, had a drug addiction.
He said he was able to overcome his hardships about 18 years ago when he attended a similar event like Wednesday's service project. The event from nearly two decades ago was called Convoy of Hope, and Heineman said it saved him.
"Since then, the Lord has changed my life and has changed me," he said.
Heineman said the resources he was given during that event renewed and inspired him to give back to others.
"Jesus is the reason for the season. When you do things for God, he supplies all our needs according to His riches and glory in heaven. People donate and people give. It's just amazing to see," he said.
Now, Heineman said he's on a mission to continue spreading generosity, kindness, and compassion, especially during this time of goodwill.
He added he and his team visit Rebecca Street every third Saturday to hand out groceries and other necessities to continue giving back to those who may need the extra help.