LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The reindeer run for Santa Claus is less than two weeks away, but Friday morning, a reindeer express took place in Lexington.
The Nest helped over 7,500 people in the Lexington community last year, and their mission persisted through the cold and snow to meet the needs for 1,700 kids during the holidays.
“Today is our annual giveaway to our families, the children that we have served over the last year,” Executive Director Jeffrey White said. “We want to make sure that everyone has a really, really great holiday.”
The Reindeer Express has been moving along for the Nest for more than 20 years.
“The parents know if their child likes blue or red, or they like dinosaurs, or they like Barbie dolls,” White explained “They get to shop for their little ones.”
Along with the toys, the Nest makes sure each kid receives a coat, hat, scarf, gloves, and a food box.
“We got involved with it because they needed help with the food boxes,” said Dan Bishop, pastor at Zion Baptist Church in Lexington.
Bishop has hopped on the express for eight years.
“That's what we're into doing is helping people, and the Bible says to feed the people, so that's what we're doing," he said.
The overnight snow couldn’t slow the reindeer express, and the warm hearts encouraged many, like Bishop, to brave the cold.
“I got thinking there's going to be 1,700 kids,” he said, “and they needed to be taken care of. That's part of it.”
“We want to make sure that everybody has a good Christmas and all those little ones get their items,” White reinforced.
The Nest had the express up and running from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but White shared that they are planning to add a day next week as well for families who couldn’t make it out into the elements today.
