Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Teen’s Xmas display aims to help SPCA
W. Goshen teen’s Christmas display aims at helping area SPCA
Gavin Snyder, 13, is raising money and donations for the Brandywine SPCA through his Christmas light display.
Visitors to 895 S. Concord Road in West Goshen Township can indulge their love of outdoor Christmas decorations while also making the holidays brighter for the four-legged residents of Chester County.
Gavin Snyder, 13, is raising money and donations for the Brandywine SPCA through his holiday light display, which he designed, collected and paid for.
“Animals deserve a Christmas too,” said the Stetson Middle School student in a letter announcing his collection efforts. “Please know you’re donating to a great cause!”
The display runs through Jan. 1, and visitors can view the lights between 5-11 p.m. nightly, including on Christmas.
The teenager – who also runs his own outdoor decorating business – spent four days toward the end of November decorating with the help of his grandfather, Don Herb. The yard features more than 14 inflatable decorations, lights, path markers, and even an inflatable Santa that waves.
The latter was a birthday gift from Snyder’s grandmother, and it is one of the display’s centerpieces at which visitors can take pictures.
“If you would like a picture with Santa, pictures won’t be turned down!” Snyder posted on his Facebook page (facebook. com/gavin.snyder.524). In an interview, he added, “I thought kids would really like that.”
Herb said he provides the technical assistance for the display and credits his grandson with the planning and execution, adding that Gavin had plans for the display a month in advance and a diagram showing where everything should go.
“He put a lot of thought into this,” Herb said. “From the time he’s been about 4, he’s been doing Christmas displays.”
In a phone interview, Snyder’s passion for his display and his collection for the SPCA are evident in the way he speaks.
“Every year I put out inflatables, and we all chip in to buy stuff,” he said. “This is my biggest year.”
To date he has raised $163 in donations from his Facebook page and from money people have brought to him.
“When you come to see the display, it doesn’t take a lot to help,” he said. “Even if it’s $5, you can say you helped.”
Some of the items the SPCA needs include bedding, toys for dogs and cats, and food. The bedding, Snyder explained, could be old sheets or towels that the shelter can then reuse. A complete list of the shelter’s needs can be found online at www.bvspca.org/ donate/wishlist.
A donation bin for the SPCA is at the display.
Snyder’s father, Steve, explained that his son’s collection of decorations for Christmas and other holidays keeps growing.
“It’s a big collection that only keeps getting bigger,” he said in a telephone interview. “He puts everything he has into this. He’s got a great heart.”
For Valentine’s Day, Gavin displays two or three themed inflatables. He has several others for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, and an inflatable turkey for Thanks-
giving. Halloween, he said, is his other big decorating holiday.
But it’s Christmas that is his favorite holiday. Besides decorating the house on Concord Road, Gavin has also taken on several other jobs as part of his business, Outdoor Holiday Decorating (www.facebook.com/outdoorholidaydecor)
“This is the first year it’s gone pretty big,” he said. “I’ve done a few jobs and have a couple more to do.”
Gavin will be collecting monetary and other donations for the Brandywine SPCA until the day after Christmas, at which point he plans to box everything up and deliver it.