COVINGTON, Ky. — The spirit of Christmas arrived early with frosted cookies, ornaments, and, of course, Christmas trees, as the Brighton Center Junior Board’s Co-Chairs Christina Bryant and Laura Farmwald welcomed guests to the Christmas in July Charity Euchre Tournament.

Bryant says she has the key to winning the game. As she focused on the game, she shared her trick, “Watching what everybody else plays and being consistent with your partner.”

The tournament wasn’t just for fun, but for a cause. Instead of charging a registration fee, guests were instructed to bring any toy for kids of all ages so they too could have a fun holiday.

“Which is really just about getting a jumpstart on our donations for this year,” Bryant shared.

Starting collections early secures gifts for more than 2,000 families in need in the northern Kentucky region and Farmwald says she can barely contain her excitement seeing the families’ happiness.

Farmwald said, “The joy on, the parents faces when they get to come in and shop for their kids when they otherwise couldn’t, and bring those toys home and, and having us all be a part of that is just really meaningful and special.”

The Junior Board hosts a few events a year, raising funds and collecting gifts and sharing the many resources Brighton Center offers.

As they reflected on all that Brighton Center does for the community, Bryant said, “Brighton Center is so present in northern Kentucky, doing things for people all the way from birth. All the way up through our older generation.”

”I just love how Brighton Center focuses on allowing their customers to tell them what they need, as opposed to telling people what they need to get to self-sustainability,” Farmwald added.

This event, displaying the spirit of giving, has no true season.

To get more information on how to volunteer, donate, or find event dates, you can visit the Brighton Center website.