It’s not just any pork sausage. It’s sausage fried up by members of the board of directors at Junior Achievement of the Ocoee Region.
It’s not just any breakfast. It’s “Breakfast with Santa!”
And it’s coming this weekend, the same weekend that is bringing the Community Christmas Tree Lighting downtown Friday night, the same weekend hosting the Christmas Parade on Saturday night, and the same weekend hosting the 23rd annual “A Christmas Classic” by the Lee University School of Music on Sunday afternoon.
In a roasted nutshell, it’s all things Christmas Friday, Saturday and Sunday!
Compliments of Junior Achievement and the organization’s longstanding partner — Andrew Johnson Bank — the 2011 version of “Breakfast with Santa” is coming to the Bradley Square Mall from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday.
Parents bringing their children won’t need to bring a lot of money. For $5 per person, holiday diners will receive a delicious morning meal of pancakes, sausage and a choice of beverages. All the work is being done by a hardworking group of honorary elves — members of the Junior Achievement Board of Directors who recently completed elf training in an exhaustive workshop at the North Pole. Some will be wearing elf hats or bright red Santa tops to prove their worth.
Those who have attended past “Breakfasts with Santa” — a festive early-December gathering that launched in 2007 — understand that in a very small way it is a Junior Achievement fundraiser. Mostly, it’s all about bringing people together in a Christmas setting that promotes public awareness about JA and the splendid organization’s message.
A strong partner to education, Junior Achievement is not about repeating what is already being done in classrooms — far from it. Instead, JA works to compliment the classroom; that is, volunteer instructors provide a relevant form of learning that formal education does not address in its crowded curriculum.
A look at the JA mission tells its story.
Junior Achievement provides “hands-on experiential programs that teach students three key concepts: Work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.”
Each is a pressing need.
All can be of benefit not just to young minds, but to employers who one day will hire them and to families whose livelihoods will wrest in their care.
While attendees enjoy their breakfast, Santa will be busy walking about the masses while posing for photographs and listening to the wishes of area children. He might even throw in a good word for the parents.
All children are invited to enter the coloring contest and everyone will leave the festive breakfast with a bag of treats.
Any amount of proceeds raised from “Breakfast with Santa” will go toward the purchase of instructional materials used by the unpaid JA volunteer instructors. But the real deal is just making children happy and introducing their parents — and the community — to what Junior Achievement is all about and how it partners with area schools.
Launched in 1965 with the backing of former Magic Chef Company president Skeet Rymer, Junior Achievement locally works with schools in Bradley, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe and Polk counties. More information may be obtained by visiting www.clevelandtn.ja.org.
“Breakfast with Santa” tickets may be purchased at the mall’s Guest Services Booth, from any JA board member or by calling the JA office at 476-6772. Children 2 and under are admitted free.
It’s about the breakfast.
It’s about enjoying a few laughs with the Jolly Ol’ Elf.
It’s about community awareness.
It’s about having a good time.
We can think of no better reasons to attend.
