Photo by Gage Vota From left, Belmont Hills Country Club President Bryan Woodford, club member Bob Perry, Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services case workers Shannon Weekly and Jennifer Fietz get ready to provide children in need a Merry Christmas.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — For the second year in a row, Belmont Hills Country Club and Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services have teamed up to provide Christmas to area children in need.

“During this holiday season, many Belmont Hills Country Club members wanted to show their appreciation by helping to sponsor local families that are in need,” Belmont Hills Country Club Club President Bryan Woodford said.

“Community is one of our core values and we are dedicated to supporting local organizations and initiatives that make a positive impact in our area.”

Woodford thanked Belmont County Job & Family Services for its successful collaboration with the country club and said that he plans to continue to team up next year.

DJFS caseworker Jennifer Fietz said that the country club gave the department a sizable donation to the department to provide Christmas gifts for children in need.

She added that unlike last year where gifts were donated, the department was able to take care of all of the purchasing, wrapping and delivering of the gifts.

Fietz said that the program wouldn’t be possible without the kindness of the country club’s members who donated to it.

“We have a lot of families who can’t always make ends meet, and we have programs that provide for things like housing assistance and utilities, but we don’t have funds for Christmas gifts, so it comes very in handy for those kids that might not get anything otherwise,” Fietz said. “This time of year is difficult for many families.”

Woodford added that as a result of membership donations, the club was able to sponsor multiple local children to ensure that they were able to have a special and memorable Christmas.

“I want to give a special thanks to Jennifer Fietz from DJFS and the Belmont Hills Country Club members for their efforts in helping to make this initiative a success,” he said.

Through donations by the club’s members $1,000 was raised to provide Christmas gifts for the children in need. Fietz said gifts have already been delivered to the families so the children will be able to open them on Christmas morning.