Spoiler alert: Santa won’t be bringing Christmas gifts to every household in Philadelphia this year. That’s the hardscrabble reality in a city with a 26 percent poverty rate.

But thanks to two Kensington-based Facebook groups, it doesn’t have be the case for every family in need.

Kensington Neighborhood Alumnae and Kensington Pride collected more than $5,000 over the last month through a crowdfunding campaign. With the help of a few community leaders — and the charity-minded owner of Kensington Pub at Tioga and Collins Streets — that money was used to sponsor eight families in the neighborhood who have hit hard times.

(There was even $500 left over to send to St. Francis Inn, a Kensington Avenue landmark that serves the homeless and hungry.)

“We all grew up humble,” said Barb Raimo, a pre-K teacher who has spent her entire life in various parts of Kensington. “But if your neighbors needed a cup of sugar, you gave them two cups of sugar.”

Members of Kensington Neighborhood Alumnae and Kensington Pride gathered at Kensington Pub on Saturday to share the gifts. In holidays past, the two groups crowdsourced money and simply sent it off to a charity. This year, they wanted to do something face-to-face with members of the community.

Lynn Gillis started Kensington Neighborhood Alumnae started six years ago as a group for women who grew up in the area, but now it’s a 12,000-member group that spans every gender, generation and social background. Kensington Pride, started by local construction worker Gary Summerfield, has over 7,000 members.

“It’s about neighborhood people giving back to the neighborhood,” Summerfield said of the fundraiser.

Despite the occasional heated thread about police-community relations or former Mayor Frank Rizzo, the Facebook groups’ conversation is familial. Members post old photographs of the neighborhood, share local news stories, and play word or memory games.

Still, charity can be suspect in a place like Kensington. There is always someone trying to scam others for a few bucks. But as one resident put on Saturday, you can’t use the few scammers as an excuse not to help those who are genuinely in need.

Don Gould owns Memphis Market in Kensington, and with business going well he says he has to give back. He sponsored a family through Horatio B. Hackett School. They have been “having a rough time” is all Gould could say. When he took the mother Christmas shopping, she wept in the aisles —  the money helped her purchase necessities like winter jackets for the kids.

The stories are as varied and diverse as Philadelphia itself.

A mother and father are going back to school and working night jobs to keep the heat on for their two kids. One boy with down's syndrome lost both a parent and grandparent this year. A single mother on Allegheny Avenue faced an unexpected setback a few months ago when a stray bullet tore through their home.

Cee, 30, who preferred not to share her last name, recently lost her job as a dental assistant. A widow and single-mother, she knew it would be a lean holiday for her four kids. But then a friend in the Facebook groups reached out with a sponsorship.

“It’s just a week before Christmas, and these are the first gifts I have for my kids,” Cee said. “It’s a huge weight off my shoulders.”

There are far more families facing hard times this holiday season, but the Kensington priders believe that these little efforts add up. They hope to raise money to help more neighborhood families through the holiday season next year.