Christmas for Kids 2003

Seattle ILWU sponsors Christmas for Kids 2006

This year the Christmas for Kids Program reached out to 35 families and 124 children in the Seattle area. Volunteers from longshore Local 19 and Federated Auxiliary 3 have continued our relationship with Martin Court , which is part of the King County Low Income Housing Institute. (http://www.lihi.org/) The institute helps homeless families by giving them a place to stay and offering them training programs to help them get back on their feet. Families participating in the program are required to enter job-training programs before receiving housing aid.

Diane Lee, manager of Martin Court , has been pivotal in helping us reach these children. Diane organized a Christmas party at Martin Court for the families. Everyone had a great time as we ate pizza and passed out the presents. To see the smiles on the children’s faces makes you all teary eyed.

Diane has referred us to Dolores Taylor who manages another housing program at Columbia Court and this gives us a greater opportunity to help more families who are helping themselves get back on their feet.

Christmas for Kids program Director and Auxiliary 3 President Leona Cunningham has made a very personal commitment to make sure the children’s wishes come true. Our application asks the child what he or she would like from Santa, and Leona will do her best to ensure that every child receives the gift they wanted. This requires her to custom shop for each child and wrap every gift. In addition to gifts, we make sure that every child receives a new jacket and shoes as well as grocery vouchers so the family has a good holiday meal.

Also throughout the year Leona creates hand made embroidered quilts for the children. These blankets most often become one of the most cherished gifts that we could give.

As we were passing out gifts one of the mothers who had been living on the streets with her children and had absolutely nothing for her kids came up to Leona crying and said that if it wasn’t for the Longshoremen her kids would have nothing.

Most of the families we work with have nothing more than a TV to entertain their children, so to see the smiles and tears of joy coming from the children and their mothers makes me realize that Santa truly does exist. He exists as all of the selfless people who think of the less fortunate and volunteer their time to help complete strangers have a wonderful and joyful holiday.

—Curt Cunningham