"Christmas Around the World" Concert Brings Smiles to the Community

The Azure Hills Children Center hosted a benefit concert titled "Christmas Around the World" to raise money for Family Services Association (FSA) of Redlands Adopt-a-Child 2014 on Saturday night, Dec. 13. Starting at 5 p.m., the students at the Children’s Center, ranging in age from 2 to 5, helped get everyone into the Christmas spirit as they performed Christmas classics from around the world. Each child was dressed according to a specific culture. “Christmas Around the World” is about the gathering of different backgrounds and cultures to celebrate the holidays as a community. With only 40 students in the program, the program brought in a large crowd of parents, families and community members. All the proceeds went directly to the Family Services Association of Redlands. Director at Azure Hills Children Center Tasha Tate shared, “We usually ask for toys to be donated to send over but this year we took it upon ourselves to just send a check over to them.” The popular attraction and show the children from the Children’s Center put on that night helped raise over $1,000 for the FSA of Redlands. “We didn’t sell refreshments or anything so that was the money from just ticket sales,” Tate explained. Everyone was pleasantly surprised on how great the turn out was for the event. “I never announced what my expectations were but in my head I was hoping we would reach $1,000,” Tate said. “It was absolutely amazing. This is a huge success.” The money will go directly to the FSA of Redlands in hopes of making Christmas better for children. “We are so proud that our efforts will provide Christmas for the most overlooked age group, 9 to 12, this year,” Tate said. “Our school of only 40 students raised this money for them and I couldn’t be more happy.”