Reindeer to the Rescue

Dear Friends and Family,
For the last several years, our family has provided Christmas for a family who is very near and dear to us. Ruth, the mother of this family, provided wonderful nursing care for my brother, Steve, for the last few years of his life and we will be forever grateful. As a single parent, Ruth continues to work two jobs to support her two daughters as well as her sister, who is not in good health. And as their needs have grown, we have reached out to our family and friends and your generosity has been so touching and played such a huge part in making each Christmas magical for this family.

This year, however, their needs are much greater. Their next door neighbor had a fire, which in turn, spread to their house and destroyed all of their belongings and has made their home uninhabitable. They are currently living in a hotel efficiency and will be there for the next 4-6 months.

Although Ruth had to work on Thanksgiving, we were happy have her daughters share thanksgiving dinner with us. They are 10 and 13 years old. I was amazed with their maturity and enthusiasm. They were just filled with gratitude and kept saying they have never had a feeling like this....like being part of a family on a holiday. They have certainly given US a renewed feeling of gratitude as well. They are pictured here with my mom who they affectionately call “Grandmom”. They picked up on my Mom’s “knack” for worrying and continually told my mom not to worry about their situation.

So although our plan is to again provide a nice Christmas for them, their needs are MUCH greater this year. They have lost all of their clothing as well as things we have provided for them in recent years such as bedding, outerwear, and fun things like Xbox, electronic keyboard, etc.

So again we reach out to our family and friends! Thank you so much for your consideration in helping such a special family this season.