I was so excited when I found out that I would get to participate in Eden’s Giving Back program.  My family has been on the receiving end of some of these programs before and every year we do our best to make sure that we give something that will benefit somebody else.  For me to be able to do this on a larger scale than we’ve been able to do in the past was just astounding.

I had a bit of a snafu with the program I was working with, not getting the list of children and gifts until almost the same time I got the total that the community had donated.  But it all worked out in the end, and as soon as I had the total amount I was being given, I snagged my fiance to come to the store with me and help pick stuff out.  The family that you wonderful people helped give Christmas to happened to consist of a 4 year old boy and an 8 year old girl, and that was really all the information I was given, aside from what they needed and a few things they wanted.

With your help, I was able to get everything they needed, as well as everything they were wanting.  Each child got sweatpants, pajamas, socks, underwear, as well as a few games.  It was really hard for me to do some of this shopping, partially because well, I don’t have any kids, and I don’t know what all the numbers and sizes translate to and how well they’ll fit the average kid of X age.  Another reason it was kind of difficult was because there were so many neat things to choose from.  Picking out the little boy’s underwear, I stood there for 10 minutes, because I had forgotten just how many options there were.  I also got this family a $200 gift card to a grocery store to provide their holiday meal, as well as some extra groceries they might be needing.

The generosity from the community inspired me to want to give back even more, and after I had gotten my first list, I contacted the agency to ask if they still needed any more help with families.  Turns out there was a family with 4 kids that needed stuff too, so on my own, I went out and got them all winter coats, plenty of clothing, and a few toys to help brighten their holiday up.

The amount of presents that I had in my car when we went to do the drop off surprised me, a lot.  I drive a full size Ford and my trunk was pretty well full.  The look on the face of the lady that came out to help us unload was just priceless when she saw everything in there, and she even hugged me.  I’m still feeling warm and fuzzy about the good you guys helped me do, even if it wasn’t the most stuff ever.  We all made this happen, and I’m eternally grateful to all of you, and obscenely proud to count myself as a member of this community.