UH GRADUATE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS, AVALON DINER SERVE UP CHRISTMAS DINNER AND GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN NEED

More than 30 University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) students will spend their Christmas Day playing games, giving presents and serving dinner to nearly 100 children and their famlies from the Houston Area Women's Center, Fort Bend Women's Center and other service agencies. 

The GCSW Student Holiday Dinner begins with face painting and crafts at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 25, at the Avalon Diner, 12810 Southwest Freeway in Stafford. A Christmas lunch will be served at 11:15 a.m.

"It's about being of service and spending that morning in service, " said Andre Napier, GCSW student and owner of the Avalon Diner. "These children come from dire circumstances, and all of them have faced issues such as abuse, neglect and abandonment. We feel that by providing a holiday meal, a modest gift and a day of encouragement, it will be beginning of something positive that will serve them throughout their lives."

The students are all classmates at the college. 

Napier, who has owned the Avalon Diner for eight years, is planning a traditional holiday dinner complete with fried turkey, ham, collard greens, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. 

Each child will receive a Christmas gift to open, donated by the students, families and their supporters. Napier said he also wanted to give the children and families an opportunity to have a restaurant "eating out" experience, and to have at least a few hours of fun. 

"From the first day I started at the college, there's been a recurring theme of gratitude, in what I have and in expressing that gratitude to others," he said. "I'm excited that I can do this with my classmates for the community."

WHAT: UH Graduate College of Social Work Students/Avalon Diner Christmas Day Dinner for the children and families of Houston Area Women's Center, Fort Bend Women's Center and KIPP Academy Middle and High School. 

WHEN: Christmas Day, 10:30 a.m. face painting, games, crafts; 11:15 a.m. dinner

WHERE: Avalon Diner, 12810 Southwest Freeway, Stafford near The Fountains http://www.avalondiner.com/stafford.html

###