Published: October 30, 2009 08:21 pm      

Area youths organize Angel Tree benefit

By RORYE O’CONNOR

rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Two young people are taking the initiative to help make the holidays better for children in the area.

Jase Lucas, 12, and Shauna Brandt, 18, are organizing a spaghetti dinner to benefit Angel Tree, a national organization which helps provide Christmas presents for children whose parents are incarcerated.

The spaghetti dinner will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. November 7 at Crescent Lake Farm, 17301 North Casey Pike Lane. The event will feature a singing contest with six local singers as well as door prizes, and donations for Angel Tree will be collected at the end of the evening.

Lucas and Brandt will collect the donations and buy the supplies necessary to set up an Angel Tree for local children with incarcerated parents, Lucas said.

“It was Jase’s idea,” Brandt said. “He just wanted to do something for kids for Christmas.”

The spaghetti dinner was plan B in the brainstorming process, Brandt said.

“We started out with just a donation process, but it was harder to get people to do it,” she said. “Now that we changed it to a dinner, there are more people interested.”

Though Brandt is headed for Bible college in Dallas, Texas next year, she said she hopes to continue working with Angel Tree, and possibly will work to set up a similar event there.

Lucas said he saw the number of charitable organizations there were involving making children’s Christmas better, and looked to the community for ideas.

Marilyn Parks, who attends Pleasant Hill Baptist Church with Lucas and Brandt, was asked by the young people for her help in choosing a project.

“They came to me and said they wanted to do something,” Parks said, “and I said, ‘Do anything you want to do.’ I think it’s wonderful.”

To get more information or make a donation, contact Lucas at lucasfamily5@hotmail.com.