My sister Annette always
told me about an annual Christmas event that she loved to help with. It was a gift giveaway at the Sienna Francis
House, a homeless shelter in Omaha, Nebraska.
Her friend Kristi works there and Annette had gone to help out at the
Christmas event a few years.
Well, Annette died last
week. And at her Celebration of Life
service, her friend Kristi mentioned that the shelter’s Christmas event was the
next day. “Sign me up,” I said. I knew that the event was something I would
be inspired by, and more than that, I felt a “duty” to take the volunteer spot
left vacant by my sister’s passing.
When I got to the shelter I
was assigned the job of NUMBER CALLER. Each
guest would come in, fill out a form listing their name and age, and if they
had children under 12 years old, the kids’ names and ages. Then each guest would be assigned a
NUMBER. I was in charge of sort of
managing the traffic flow by hollering, “Numbers 1, 2, and 3 please!!”. When those 3 guests came up, I would wish
them a Merry Christmas and show them where to go to find cookies and someone to
help them pick out a gift. Then a few
minutes later, “Numbers 4, 5, and 6 please!”.
Then gifts were all
donated and wrapped by a local church. Members
from the church were there to help the guests pick out a gift. There was a big poster listing the possible
gift choices. For men, things like
wallets, long underwear, sweatshirts, cologne, socks, pants, watches, etc. For women the same types of things. All gifts were wrapped and placed on tables by
category and size, if necessary. It was
very well organized.
The guests ate dinner and
were surprised by Santa and Mrs. Claus!
Mrs. Claus gave each person a Christmas ornament to bring over to the gift
giveaway (the ornaments served as a type of ticket for entry). So as soon as the first people finished
dinner, our CHRISTMAS GUESTS BEGAN TO ARRIVE!
Women came first. It was
nice to see them arrive for this special event.
There was such a diverse group of women – old, young, African American,
white, big, little… And they all seemed very
happy to have this special night. One
woman showed me the gift she had picked out for her 4 month old child – a very
sweet little stuffed puppy toy.
Then came the men. Again, such a diverse group of people!! There were several in wheelchairs or using
walkers. Young, old, clean, messy. There were 3 or 4 Deaf guests and one in
particular was very excited to have a volunteer who could communicate with him
in ASL! It was super fun to be able to
chat with him and also be able to interpret and facilitate his communication in
choosing the perfect gift!!
In this time of excess,
this event really made me think. Each guest
received ONE GIFT. One very practical
gift, things they needed and could really use.
And that ONE GIFT made many of them smile so big. They were surprised and delighted that this
Christmas would bring them ANYTHING.
Many had a hard time choosing…
When you have to make a decision between a backpack or long underwear,
that is a hard choice to make. There was
one table of little things that anyone could take, an extra small gift as it
were. The 2 people I watched go through
both had their eyes light up when they saw little manicure sets – nail clippers,
nail scissors, etc. They were so excited
to get those!!! One man exclaimed, “I AM
GOING TO TRIM MY BEARD!!”.
So, this week, as you are fretting
over whether you have bought enough gifts for your children or if the sweater and
necklace for your mom will be enough, take time to pause and be grateful.
There
are people in this country who have NOTHING.
And then there are the lucky 278
guests
at Sienna Francis House who now have their very own gift (and maybe even a nail
clipper)
and are pleased as punch.
Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.
I love you.
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