This is a family spun charity that Jill Donaldson, owner of Bippo’s Place for Smiles and Kids Dental Zone pediatric dental offices, and Margaret Donaldson Bruzdzinski, owner of CFO One Source, began 12 years ago. The idea came from a special nighttime episode of Oprah that we happened to catch. She told a story from her childhood that really touched our hearts. There was a year when she was a pre-teen that her mother had prepared her family for the fact that there would be no Christmas that year. They had accepted it but were rightfully sad. As Christmas day rolled around, a group of nuns showed up at her house and brought a bunch of presents, Christmas dinner and even a Christmas tree! She said she has never forgotten what that meant to her throughout her life. The fact that someone who didn’t even know her cared that much for her changed her life.
We started the first year by helping 2 families. We bought lots of toys and clothes, but it seemed like we needed a game plan. The next year we enlisted our mom, Lynda who wanted to buy books and bibles for the families. John and Jenifer Besh started cooking Christmas dinner for our families not long after the start-up! It added just another dimension to our fabulous Christmas surprises. As time passed, we brought our sister Kay into the mix and then more friends and family members. We added a Sam’s trip to the delivery, which stocked their shelves with lots of non-perishables. We applied for our 501C3 charity status in 2007. We gave our Charity a name and laid out our game plan.
We like to spend $250-$300 on toys for each child, $250-$300 on clothes for each child; teenagers often require a little bit more to get the same affect; we spend $300-$600 at Sam’s for each family (based on number in household), buy books for each family and provide Christmas dinner to each family. We usually buy a family gift like an Xbox or a computer or sometimes both for each family if it is needed. We also provide any furniture that a family might be in dire need for their home. There have been several years that we bought beds for family members that were previously sleeping on air mattresses.
We deliver on Christmas Eve starting about 10 and ending about 2. It is a huge caravan of happy cars and trucks that go from house to house like Santa Claus! It is the most rewarding Christmas Eve that a family could ever share!
So, that’s our happy little Christmas story, and we would love for you to join in the fun! I am in the process of getting families from our surrounding schools now. Please let me know if you can give of time or money. We need shoppers and wrappers and deliverers, so there is plenty to do. We also love a big fat check if time is hard to find! Lol! We actually love any small check too!
Have a wonderful November and God Bless Shine Your Light charity in this 2019 Christmas season!