Kilgore businesswoman helps Crisis Center residents shop for Christmas with gift card drive

KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) - Parents living in shelters during the holidays typically rely on gift donations for their children’s Christmas presents. A Kilgore business owner teamed up with the East Texas Crisis Center to give residents a more personal option this year.

Melissa Azzam owns an Allstate Insurance office in Kilgore, and she’s collecting gift cards at her place of business for the East Texas Crisis Center drive. Azzam said giving gift cards to parents gives them the gift of independence during the holiday season, but she has her own personal reasons for working with the organization.

“I lived in the Crisis Center as a child. That was the first shelter that we lived in,” Azzam said. “The Crisis Center is just very important to me because they helped us, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the Crisis Center.”

Azzam hopes to raise $1,500 for the center through the drive, and she has more goals in mind if that number is achieved. Anything above that initial goal will go towards the the “Stock the Sleigh” drive for the Women’s Center of East Texas in Longview, another shelter that Azzam received help from after her stay in Tyler.

Any amount is a welcome donation, Azzam said, and she will be accepting cash and gift cards at her office until Dec. 15. Melissa Azzam: Allstate Insurance is located at 738 US-259 BUS, Kilgore, TX 75662, across from Brookshires. Azzam said she is willing to pick up donations as well.

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