Letters To Santa

This was written in December of 2010...

As a child, I dreamed of a room full of toys and goodies and looking back, I can say that I was always pleasantly surprised by what my mom was able to do for me even, at times, on less than a shoestring budget.

Now I have my own child and I am on a tight budget myself and yet I still managed to get what my daughter really wants; a Barbie (among some other cool toys). Don't tell her. Let's give Santa the credit this year. ;)

In the past I have been more than fortunate to have had plenty; even excess, and I have often answered letters written to Santa by under-privileged children. This year I didn't even entertain the thought because I am struggling myself but I had an emptiness in my heart, knowing that I have a roof over my head, food on the table and I am still able to find the money for some gifts for my family while there are those without who will not receive any gifts or even a proper Christmas dinner this year. I decided that while I couldn't do much, I would find a way to do something.

I couldn't make it to the post office on 33rd and 8th in Manhattan to pick up a letter to Santa so I looked to do something else. On Thursday I made a call to Harlem Dowling, a center that services over 1,000 needy children right here in NYC. I asked if any of the children had written letters to Santa and I got a resounding, "Yes." I asked how I could help and was told that I could have the letters sent to me. Well, I couldn't blindly promise to answer more than one or two letters and there wasn't enough time to wait for the mail so I asked to have a letter read to me over the phone.

It went like this, "Dear Santa, I would like a book and a puzzle. Love, Aiden, 6 years old." Well, I had to make sure that Aiden got such a simple wish fulfilled. I asked for another letter. "Dear Santa, I would like a Barbie doll. Love, Desteny." A Barbie is $5.99. I got that. I asked for more and more letters and suddenly I was taking on more than I could afford. I reached out to some friends and family who agreed to chip in with me and I was able to get 8 letters answered within an hour. I called back and asked for more letters. More volunteers asked if they could help and all specific Christmas wishes were fulfilled within 24 hours. I called back and asked what else the children needed. Clothes for the teenagers. Ah, a little difficult but Old Navy has a store near the facility in Harlem and the children would be able to use gift certificates to buy some things and after-Christmas sales are so good that $20 gift certificates would be able to be used for 2-3 items of clothing for each child. I put out the word via facebook and three more friends offered to help. We were able to purchase 25 Old Navy gift certificates. Some more donations came in and items like pajamas and robes, skateboards and games, some more Barbies and toy cars would be added to the list. 140 gifts were purchased in total and I delivered them (thank goodness for the SUV) just two days before Christmas. Phew!

The outpouring of help I received in 2010, a year when most people were struggling, was nothing short of amazing. I am going to bring Christmas gifts to Harlem Dowling again in 2011, so if anyone would like to help out and be a Santa's Helper, please contact me ASAP. Last year we were able to give 140 presents. This year I am shooting for 1,000!