The Spalding County Fire Department on Thursday hosted its annual golf tournament fund-raiser for the Christmas for Kids program, which provides gifts for local children who have been placed in state custody.

Spalding County Department of Family and Children Services Director Phyllis Easton-Barkley said the assistance of the SCFD is crucial in ensuring that these children have a good Christmas.

“Basically, we couldn’t thank them enough. Without their efforts — the things they do — we wouldn’t be able to do Christmas for our kids,” Easton-Barkley said. “There are no state funds provided for us to do Christmas for children in state custody.”

She said there are additional community sponsors, but emphasized that the SCFD bears the lion’s share of responsibility.

Although the number of participants was down from previous years, Lt. Keith Tate, the chairman of the Christmas for Kids annual fund-raising efforts, said he views the 2010 golf tournament as a success.

“I think today went great,” he said. “With the way the economy is, we were off by about 30 percent from last year, but we do what we can and go from there.”

Tate went on to say the motivation of SCFD personnel is simple — to make the holiday season brighter for children in need.

“There are a number of underprivileged children in the county who wake up on Christmas to no presents,” he said. “We want to eliminate that situation.”

Those interested in supporting the Christmas for Kids program may submit donations year-round to Firefighters for Kids, 600 Carver Road, Griffin, GA 30224.