Christmas in Mathews is always special! One of the best traditions is the Christmas Store started by the late Peggy Hudgins over three decades ago. It allows citizens in need of extra help to shop and provide Christmas for their families. This year, we served 686 adults and 256 children at the Christmas Store. Fifty children visited the Elf Shoppe, which allowed them to shop for their parent or guardian. Without all the efforts of the community and their Christmas spirit, this event would not be possible.

The Mathews County Department of Social Services would like to recognize and thank the many volunteers who took time during the holiday season to help set up, work the store and take everything down. Just for the week of the Christmas Store, it took 134 volunteers and 391 hours to make the magic happen. A special thanks to the volunteers who shop throughout the year, seeking the very best of the best deals to stock the Christmas Store. We appreciate everyone’s gift of time during ...