Christmas Day marked the 109th annual Christmas Celebration held at the Dr. Piper Center in Dunbar. The event has a long and rich history, first taking place in 1915.
The mother of Ella Mae Piper, the Fort Myers trailblazer for whom the Dr. Piper Center is named, started the event that year by treating just 15 little girls from Dunbar to Christmas dinner.
After her mother’s death in 1926, Piper continued the tradition. She used her connections as a local entrepreneur to gather donations and support for the event from the community each year. The event has evolved into a day where children from all across Southwest Florida can receive Christmas gifts.
Shavon Chester, Health Services Liaison for the Dr. Piper Center, attests to the event’s growth.
“The celebration grew, and grew, and grew, from 15 girls on that first Christmas morning to [this year], 415 kids,” Chester said.
Before her death in 1954, Piper left her property to the City of Fort Myers on the condition it would be used as a space for the community’s children and elderly. The Dr. Piper Center’s mission is to carry out that wish.
Farrah Agustin, a long-time Dunbar resident, saw her siblings receiving presents, and Piper’s wish carried out firsthand. She feels the Christmas Celebration helps alleviate specific economic pressures members of the Dunbar community have historically faced.
“I feel like specifically with the Dunbar community, there is a bit of financial insecurities, sometimes people need gifts, and they can’t afford them,” Agustin said. “It brings kids who might not have a Christmas, a Christmas.”
That sentiment was echoed by 12-year-old Magic Crockett.
“It helps out the needy,” she said. “Because some kids don’t have what other kids have, so it helps out when they don’t have as much as everybody else.”
In addition to the gifts, people played lawn games in the parking lot, and families took photos with Santa. Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson believes the annual Christmas Celebration represents the spirit of Fort Myers.
“If you look around, you can see, it’s really a community event,” Anderson said. “We have a very caring and giving community. I know the generosity of our community. This represents how generous people can be.”
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