Giving Back: How Wheels by RT Brightened Christmas for These Young Parents

Wheels by RT is celebrating its 30th anniversary by giving back to the community with a handful of different projects — and their inaugural Christmas party for participants in Easterseals' Teen Family Support Program was so successful, they are going to make it a yearly tradition.

We had to share the photos with you:

On the Saturday before Christmas, about 15 volunteers hosted a Christmas party, complete with Santa, face-painting, cookie decorating and dinner. Thanks to community donations, 62 moms and moms-to-be (with ages ranging from 14 to 21) and about 50 children received gifts — plus, each child that came got to pick out a stuffed animal (donated by the Rockford IceHogs) as they left that evening.

Brooke Tomman, of Wheels by RT, said the dealership staff decided to host the party to give back to a community that had given them so much.

"That was a huge drive for us — to give back in a really big way," Tomman said.

They didn't do it alone, though:

• Green Acres Lawn Care & Landscaping provided the Christmas lights and interior decoration.
• Pepper Creek Greenhouse & Gifts provided Santa’s sleigh.
• Berg Industries were gracious enough to provide tables and chairs at a time when they’d normally be closed.

Many of the gifts were donated from the community through a toy drive at the dealership. We love to see local businesses showcasing their investment in the community through projects like this. We're definitely going to keep an eye out for the 2019 toy drive!