Christmas for Kids 2002
By Curt Cunningham
December 20, 2002
We have completed the 2002 Christmas for Kids program. This
year we have helped 37 families and 90 children with gifts and food for the
holidays. We had 35 volunteers assist us in wrapping and delivering of the gifts
this year. I personally thank all these volunteers for their help and making
this program a success as well as the people who have made donations of toys and
cash. I
also thank the entire Local 19 membership for
continuing to make the cash donations that make this program exist. I also want
to thank my wife Leona for putting in many hours purchasing the gifts and making
sure the children get the correct gift.
We were a little short on time this year due to the lockout
so we were only able to help as many as we did. Our goal is to try to help at
least 50 families each year. We now use social workers or the equivalent to find
the families that are most in need. We have moved the program back to the Hall
so as to keep it at “Home” and so the membership can see what we are
doing.
Members can stop by wrap a gift and then go get a job.
Since Hasbro moved its facility to California we have lost a major donator of
toys. No problem, as the program gets fully funded by the Local 19 membership.
So now we shop for the children and try to buy what they are asking for so long
as it is within reason.
We no longer give out foodstuffs. Instead we now give food
vouchers to the families to buy what types of food they want. We use a formula
of $20 a head. So that relieves us of much work and I personally think it is a
much better way to go. We now have a system in place to keep track of all
spending and accountability of what each child receives.
Recently I heard on the news of a schoolteacher who told
her students that there is no Santa Claus. Well I have to disagree with her.
Though Santa does not live at the North Pole or fly a sleigh pulled by magic
reindeer especially one with a red nose (though we not need to tell this to the
kids). Aside from the myth, Santa Claus does exist.
He exists in the hearts of the men and women (and in our
case some children who helped this year) who take time out of their lives to
help total strangers who are less fortunate. My personal experience was last
year, my wife and I made a delivery to a family who had nothing under their
Christmas tree. As I was passing out gifts to the children to put under their
tree I noticed one child hugging his mother and crying.
I thought that was odd as he should have been very excited
just like his brothers and sisters. When I asked his mother why he was crying,
she replied that he had thought Santa was not coming to his house this year. I
then said to him “You believe in Santa now” he answered yes. Then the mother
started to cry. There were many families who told us that if it weren’t for us
they would have had no holiday.
This year one member took a delivery to a home and had
tried to phone them first to make a delivery appointment. The phone was
disconnected so he drove out to the house anyway and they were home. So after he
made the delivery he asked why the phone was out. She told him that she could no
longer afford it. He took $50 out of his pocket and gave it to her. This is what
Christmas is all about.
There are many organizations like ours that help the needy
during the holidays and combined all these people are the true Santa’s. So if
someone says to you that Santa does not exist.
Well I have to disagree, as yes there is a Santa.
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