Andrea's Legacy:Sleeping Bag Santa
Donation protected
In honor of the life of our beloved Andrea O’Connor, the family is requesting that, in lieu of flowers or cards, donations be made in support of Sleeping Bag Santa. Andrea was very passionate about helping those forgotten, and Sleeping Bag Santa is the cornerstone of her LEGACY!
As many of you know Andrea has dedicated hundreds of hours and many years of the holiday seasons giving back to humanity and collecting and delivering sleeping bags to the homeless in Phoenix AZ. Andrea didn’t have a lot of family or money and spent countless holidays alone. Instead of staying home alone over the holiday season she decided that she would use her own money to buy sleeping bags for the less fortunate, this began “Sleeping Bag Santa”. Her first year, she went out to multiple Goodwill locations and purchased all the sleeping bags she could find and spent the holiday season passing them out to the homeless population of Phoenix. In the years that followed, Andrea would dedicate a portion of her income to buying sleeping bags throughout the year in order to stock up in preparation for the next holiday season.
This became Andrea’s passion. Year by year because of Andrea’s dedication word spread. Friend’s and stranger’s contributions over time allowed for Sleeping Bag Santa to make a bigger impact. Thanks to the efforts of her friends in Arizona, the 2017 holiday season Sleeping Bag Santa reached an excess of over 300 people. Andrea was absolutely elated! Andrea knew first hand holidays were a difficult time for those who were unable to spend it with family.
Andrea dedicated her holiday vacation and money to make sure that others who were less fortunate and routinely spent holidays alone felt they were not alone nor forgotten. Her mission was to try and make sure that as many of the less fortunate as she could help didn’t feel alone during the holiday season and that they knew there were people that cared!
Since moving back to her home town, Lawrence, KS, Andrea was dedicated to expanding this program and serving new communities on a larger scale. Our ultimate goal is to reach any and all less fortunate individuals in her honor. We will use all proceeds to start a nonprofit foundation to Honor and continue Andrea's mission to HELP the less fortunate!!!!
As many of you know Andrea has dedicated hundreds of hours and many years of the holiday seasons giving back to humanity and collecting and delivering sleeping bags to the homeless in Phoenix AZ. Andrea didn’t have a lot of family or money and spent countless holidays alone. Instead of staying home alone over the holiday season she decided that she would use her own money to buy sleeping bags for the less fortunate, this began “Sleeping Bag Santa”. Her first year, she went out to multiple Goodwill locations and purchased all the sleeping bags she could find and spent the holiday season passing them out to the homeless population of Phoenix. In the years that followed, Andrea would dedicate a portion of her income to buying sleeping bags throughout the year in order to stock up in preparation for the next holiday season.
This became Andrea’s passion. Year by year because of Andrea’s dedication word spread. Friend’s and stranger’s contributions over time allowed for Sleeping Bag Santa to make a bigger impact. Thanks to the efforts of her friends in Arizona, the 2017 holiday season Sleeping Bag Santa reached an excess of over 300 people. Andrea was absolutely elated! Andrea knew first hand holidays were a difficult time for those who were unable to spend it with family.
Andrea dedicated her holiday vacation and money to make sure that others who were less fortunate and routinely spent holidays alone felt they were not alone nor forgotten. Her mission was to try and make sure that as many of the less fortunate as she could help didn’t feel alone during the holiday season and that they knew there were people that cared!
Since moving back to her home town, Lawrence, KS, Andrea was dedicated to expanding this program and serving new communities on a larger scale. Our ultimate goal is to reach any and all less fortunate individuals in her honor. We will use all proceeds to start a nonprofit foundation to Honor and continue Andrea's mission to HELP the less fortunate!!!!
Organizer
Kevin Polian
Organizer
Mesa, AZ
