Northcott Neighborhood House Brings Holiday Joy with Gifts and Meals in Milwaukee

On Wednesday, December 24, 2025, volunteers from Northcott Neighborhood House, Bader Philanthropies, and West Care distributed more than 5,500 free new, wrapped Christmas gifts to kids (top row). Families lined up around the block to participate. “This was a nice thing the community is doing. And I appreciate it so much,” said Lastarr Armour, who received gifts at Northcott.

Each of the 300 volunteers has a personal reason for participating. Vanessa Johnson, a volunteer at Northcott Neighborhood House, said, “Knowing that those kids have a smile on their face when they leave out of here…We’ve got a lot of kids that don’t smile anymore. And for some of them, there’s no reason to smile.”
On Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25, 2025, volunteers gathered at Northcott Neighborhood House and prepared food for 600 people for a free Christmas dinner (bottom row). It’s a service for the community that they have been doing for the past six years.

Northcott Neighborhood House, in the past, has done takeout Christmas dinners. This year, for the first time, they are offering sit-down service. Johnson said she wants it to feel five-star. Volunteers also had more toys to distribute to the children who attended the free dinner. Johnson said she hopes the event will foster community connections. “Hopefully they’ll leave here with a smile on their face, and that’s the goal,” she said.

Northcott Toy Give-away

Holiday Sit-down Dinner