Tanner Davis has been named General Chair for the 2024 Children’s Shopping Tour, which takes place on Saturday, December 7.
Davis began volunteering for the Tour when he was 15 years old and has served on the Steering Committee for the project for three years. He is the son of Kevin and
Whitney Davis and has been married to wife, Bethany, for nine years. He is employed by the Pampa Independent School District. He serves as a teacher for the high school department of the First Baptist Church on Sundays and Wednesdays and is chair of the Child Development Board of Directors for the church. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors for Snak Pack for Kids for the last four years.
“I love to see kids’ eyes light up as they are buying presents for members of their families,” Davis said. “The principal benefit of the project is showing kids the benefit of giving.” Davis continued, “The Children’s Shopping Tour experience puts the joy in my Christmas season each year.”
The Tour is open to children in the second to fifth grades who have not been on the Tour before. The project began in 1963 and is a joint effort between the Pampa Optimist Club, the Pampa Kiwanis Club, Altrusa and the Salvation Army.
“The children do not buy presents for themselves but for members of their households,” Davis explained. “For many of them it is the first time they have experienced giving at Christmas.”
People seeking to volunteer and people seeking to register their children for the Tour may go online at childrensshoppingtour.com to learn more about the Tour.
“We plan to take 75 children shopping this year,” Davis said. “We will need at least 150 or more volunteers to accomplish this goal.”
“The Children’s Shopping Tour is really a community project,” Davis pointed out. “The Chamber of Commerce and the Pampa United Way sponsor a coloring contest for kids who finish shopping early. The Catholic Youth lead the singing of Christmas carols and judge the contest. Tralee Crisis Center furnishes donuts for volunteers who help with the project. The Gideons hand out New Testament Bibles in English or Spanish for children who would like a copy. I would estimate that with various church groups and groups from Pampa High School that we have between 30 and 35 organizations that are involved with the project.”
The award winning project was named the top community service project in the nation by Optimist International and the best community service project in the world by Altrusa International.
