More than 100 children currently in foster care in Ashland County will have a brighter Yuletide season, thanks to Ashland County Juvenile Court's Community Work Service Program.

Program director Julie Dyer coordinated the Ninth Annual Fostering a Smile, Hope for the Holidays silent and live auction held at the Ashland Salvation Army's Kroc Corps Community Center this past weekend.

Dyer says there's a reason why the event is called what it is, most recently to see the face of one young child held in foster care when she received gifts and broke into a wide smile, something her case worker says she never did before.

Local businesses, organizations and individuals donate items for auction and money, which raises funds to pay for the holiday gifts for the foster children in the county's care.