Philly Anti-Jobless Group Gives Holiday Gifts to Affected Kids
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Christmas isn't the easiest time of the year for parents who don't have a job, but one organization is trying to make the season a little less difficult for some.
On Wednesday, children of unemployed parents who otherwise wouldn't have presents for the holidays received gifts from the Philadelphia Unemployment Project.
"Well, they're getting some Christmas. This is better than nothing," said PUP director John Dodds at the Arch Street United Methodist Church. "Yeah, we see a lot of smiling faces here with our little Santa Claus and so forth for the little kids. And we're glad for that."
But Dodds says donations aren't enough; what he'd really like to see in the new year are new jobs in Pennsylvania.
"We're happy that the extended benefits went through," he told KYW Newsradio on Wednesday. "That's been a godsend for millions of families. But what we really need is jobs and that's going to take some doing, and people are going to put their shoulders to the wheel to really support getting job creation in this country," he said.
Members signed a giant card that read, "Dear Mr. President and Congress, What we really need for Christmas are jobs."
Reported by Hadas Kuznits, KYW Newsradio 1060.
