Since the start of the festive season, Embrace Village and TLC Children’s Centre in Walkerville have been filled with meaningful energy.

For these sister organisations, the season is not about excess but about connection, care, and belonging.

Both TLC and Embrace Village are grounded in a shared vision: to build family and create a sense of home for children who have experienced loss or displacement.

Throughout December, this vision is lived out in simple but powerful ways.

About TLC and Embrace Village

For nearly 30 years, TLC Children’s Centre has been a place of safety, healing, and restoration for children in need of care. Founded by the Jarvis family, TLC’s legacy of love continues to grow through Embrace Village.

Embrace Village is a living community where families, caregivers, and young adults live, learn, and heal together. It is a place where belonging is built through shared meals, everyday routines, laughter, and the courage it takes to begin again.

Managing director Pippa Jarvis explained, “Embrace Village exists so that children and families don’t just receive care but experience real belonging every day.”

December at the Village

December is a time when the Village naturally slows down. There is also a sense of nervousness as everyone prepares to spend a few weeks away from the Centre.

For many of the children who call TLC and Embrace Village home, the festive season brings both joy and mixed emotions.

Resident children eagerly look forward to Santa’s visit. This moment brings pure excitement as they open small, carefully chosen gifts.

A special Christmas meal is shared at long tables under the trees, and everyone enjoys music and being together. For children who have lived with uncertainty, these moments of family mean a great deal.

For children who attend daily programmes and return to nearby communities for the holidays, December can be more difficult.

Many face three long weeks with limited food and no daily structure. Understanding this, the Village works hard to prepare in advance.

Each child receives a thoughtful gift, and every family is given a Christmas hamper filled with essential groceries.

These supplies are intended to last through the festive season and help families begin the new school year with dignity and peace of mind.

Packing food parcels, wrapping gifts, and carefully writing each child’s name on a tag become acts of celebration themselves. These moments reflect the true spirit of Christmas- the reassurance that someone cares and that no one is forgotten.

“As a team, we see that Christmas isn’t about big events,” said Jarvis. “It’s about making sure every child and family knows they are seen, supported, and remembered.”

How the community can get involved

There are many ways for community members to support TLC and Embrace Village during this season.

Contributions towards Christmas meals, children’s gifts, or essential groceries are always welcome and deeply appreciated.

Those who are able can also offer their time by helping with year-end activities, reading to the children, or joining in holiday crafts.

“For us, Christmas is about community,” Jarvis added. “Healing happens when people come together. Every shared meal, every kind gesture, and every moment of laughter creates ripples of hope.”

This December, TLC and Embrace Village invite the wider Johannesburg South community to join them in the joy of giving.

For more information, contact 011 948 7917 or embrace@tlc.org.za.