Imagine 26 kids excited for the last day of school. Their teacher has told them a special surprise is coming, but they don't know what it is. They are thinking about how it's going to be 2 weeks off of school and that can be scary because home life isn't the most stable. Sometimes it's great, but parents have been talking lately about how there isn't any money for Xmas presents and they might lose their house like their friend did and have to move. They are quietly doing their work at their desks when they hear a noise and look up:
5 uniformed Air Force men are walking into the classroom! Mrs. Corzine is smiling at them and goes over to introduce herself and shakes all their hands. They are dragging about 10 huge garbage bags with them! What is this???? Mrs. Corzine tells them to put their work away and says that these nice men are from the Air Force and are our new friends. They care about us so much that they've put together Christmas Presents for every child in this room! In the bag are Christmas Presents!
The kids look at each other with huge eyes and squeal!! They can't believe it: they try to sit quietly as the men pass out 2 wrapped gifts per child, but this is too much. They've never had gifts like this before. They were all prepared to not have anything for Christmas this year because Mom says there isn't any money for things like that! They start laughing and jumping up and down while the presents are being passed out. Mrs. Corzine looks shocked at the amount of gifts and she has tears in her eyes. One of the girls asks her why she's crying and Mrs. Corzine can't even answer her...this is amazing!
Finally everyone in the room has their 2 presents...but wait! They're not done yet! They bring the bags up to the front of the room and start taking out MORE presents to give to Mrs. Corzine for the whole class. Mrs. Corzine is smiling and crying at the same time and telling them it's way too much, but the men are shaking their heads and telling her how happy they are to do this for the kids. They have piled gifts on the front table and are explaining to Mrs. Corzine what is in each of them: soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, chapter books...enough to share with the entire 2nd grade!! Oh...an a box of homemade cookies that one of the officers' wife had stayed up late to make.
The kids all say "Thank you!" and then start to rip into their presents. It's the best scene you could ever imagine. They are laughing and excited and talking to the officers and their friends and saying things like, "I needed new socks!" and "Now my feet won't be cold!" and "Legos!!! Now I don't have to share with my brother!" and "Oh...jewelry! I've always wanted a necklace!" The officers and Mrs. Corzine are just standing by and watching them tear into their gifts...probably the best they've ever gotten (or will get). The joy in their eyes is unmistakable. It is pure happiness. They are shocked at the amount of goodies they've received:
Sweaters/Jackets for each kid (nice ones too...Nike, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, etc.)
Legos for the boys
Jewelry packets for the girls (each with necklace, earrings, bracelets)
Hair things for the girls
Hello Kitty! Stuff for the girls
Hats and Mittens and Scarves
Socks
They are modeling their new outfits and trying on their hats. A few pictures of them doing this are below. They have never been so excited in their lives. Imagine you were 8 years old and you knew you weren't going to have much of a Christmas this year. You had resigned yourself to that and you tried to convince yourself it didn't matter...then this happens!!
Mrs. Corzine starts passing out the other gifts for the kids to open. The boys go nuts at all the balls...now they have something to play with on the playground! They start squealing and yelling and jumping up and down all over again.
The principal comes in to say hello and her jaw drops when she sees how much stuff the kids have gotten. She shakes each officer's hand and thanks them...she says later that there aren't any words to describe how amazing this is. Just look at the kids' shining eyes...I know, Mrs. Corzine replies and tries to smile back without breaking into tears in front of the kids.
The officers eventually leave but first they tell Mrs. Corzine what a pleasure this was and how 50 families were involved and they'd love to come back on a regular basis to read with the kids! They say they'll be in touch and hug Mrs. Corzine and tell her "Merry Christmas"...and they smile and go back to the base where Mrs. Corzine hopes they'll spread the news at how Christmas Miracles are REAL and they made something happen for 26 kids that they will never forget...these kids are experiencing not just the new toys and clothes but the feeling that they are important and they matter.
But wait...the day isn't over yet!! After lunch, a special Christmas helper rolls in another cart filled with more presents! A elementary school in Cherry Creek (for those of you who don't know...the wealthy part of town) adopted the kids and made school supply boxes for each of them to have at home! They each got all the markers, pencils, crayons, rulers, etc. they'll ever need to do their homework! As the Christmas helper (thanks Christina...) passes them out, there is more cheering and comments like, "Now I can do my homework!" and "I've always wanted my own markers!"
Then the kids notice something...more presents on the floor: the gift bags that the WalMart gift cards were able to buy! Their eyes pop open and you can see their tiny brains about ready to explode: this is almost too much!!! One girl says, "Mrs. Corzine...there's more?????" as Mrs. Corzine explains that people from all over the country sent them some gifts because they care about them and really want them to have a nice Christmas. Also because they really want the kids to know that they are important and the best way to pay these people back is to do well in school. Who's going to do well in school to say "thank you?" All the kids shoot up their hands and their grins couldn't be any wider.
As they open their gift bags (standing on their chairs throwing the paper around...), Mrs. Corzine watches their faces closely. This will be a day these kids remember for the rest of their lives. It's not so much the new chapter books each kid got (we had enough donations for each child to have 2: plus we added to our classroom library and we gave extras to the school library and we also gave a bunch to the principal to pass out to kids who've earned a special prize), or the new basketballs, or the socks or the hats and Hannah Montana dolls (one girl saw her doll and immediately gave it a hug)...it's the fact that for this one day these kids felt RICH. They felt like they mattered in the world. They are important. You could see their self-esteem just shoot up as they realized how much other people cared about them.
One girl goes up to Mrs. Corzine and gives her a bug hug and says "Mrs. Corzine...this is amazing! All this from people we don't even know??? They must really like us and want us to read better!" Mrs. Corzine laughs and says she's right.
Finally, the gifts are over and it's recess time. Not a single 2nd grader is playing on the swings or the one slide we have. Every single one is on the blacktop playing with a new soccer ball or jump rope or kickball. It's shocking...we've never seen them do this before! They are all laughing and having a great time.
This is the true meaning of Christmas. For all of you who donated, to Sgt. Alex and his unit, to those of you who sent WalMart cards, your child's old books, to those of you who drove all the way up to Commerce City to drop items off so I wouldn't have to, to you who bought new books online and had them mailed, sent blankets and to Emily who had her 1st grade class make school supply boxes (with personalized notes from the 1st graders...my kids loved that!)...
Thank you isn't enough. I hope some of the pictures tell the story better than I can because you truly made a Christmas Miracle happen for these kids. It was a day I know I'll never forget...it was truly one of the best days of my life because I saw dejected and hopeless kids turn into kids full of joy and happiness. Even if for one day...
Thank you all and Merry Christmas! The world today is a bit better because of you!
1 comment:
My favorite is the kid throwing up the "peace" sign in the 4th picture down. Those are great pictures that really capture the excitement. Nice job Mara! You make me proud to be your cuz.
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