The Big Kids Need Love, Too
There is a 17-year old girl living at a Center for Victims shelter.
Think about that.
17.
Not quite an adult, but not really a kid anymore. At least that's what her age says. What life says, however, is probably a very different story.
I've never met her and I haven't asked her story, but the name of the agency that is helping her right now says it all. Center for Victims. She's a victim. It's a terrible word that implies weakness, but there is no way she is weak. She has come away from something terrible and is now on her path to a new life. It's a new life that isn't touched by violence.
If not for Christmas Crazy, she would wake up on December 25th to a day of disappointment. She would spend the day with part of her family, but that little bit of her family isn't able to pull off Christmas magic this year. Her name might hang on an ornament on a Giving Tree somewhere, but she's 17. And not just that, while her life isn't normal, her dreams are. She is wishing for a laptop or a cell phone or Uggs for Christmas this year. Her name would be seen on that Giving Tree, and it would be passed by. She's too old and she wants things that are too expensive.
The programs that help families in need around the holidays wouldn't help her either. Her mom could sign up for assistance, but without a permanent address and proof of all sorts of things, she wouldn't be eligible.
That 17-year old girl would fall through the cracks.
She's not going to, though. Thanks to you. And you. And YOU. All of you. Every time you donate even $1 to Christmas Crazy or grab a toy from the Wish List, you help make sure that 17-year old girl finds something under the tree on Christmas morning.
It's going to be a laptop, by the way. A very inexpensive laptop that will give her access to word processing software and the internet for research, but that's about it. It may not be everything she is hoping to get, but it will be something she can use to make her future better. She can use it to apply to college, to apply for financial aid, to write papers ... all of it. All of the things that 17-year old girls need to do.
Thanks for helping make that happen. We still have a few dozen more kids to take care of (they range in age from just a few days old to 17), but we're getting there. We have until December 15th to make the magic happen.
You guys are the best.
Christmas Crazy
Reader Comments (2)
I wasn’t going to donate this year because things are really tight for me right now. Actually they have been really tight for a while now and there is no sign of things letting up anytime soon. But then I remembered that when I was a child there were several Christmases where my family would have had nothing if not for the generosity others. So even though I can’t really afford it, I am making a donation because as an adult I can reason with myself that hopefully it will get better later and but I know, for now at least, I can help a kid be a kid for a little bit longer.
I helped distribute gifts at a local charity this morning. There were plenty of gifts for the little kids. Especially the 4-7/8 range, families could choose 2 items for that age range. Where we were most severely lacking was gifts for teenagers. Thank goodness there were a few gift cards to give so those KIDS too can find something under the tree for them.