Thursday, December 01, 2011

Christmas Bummer

For the past several years Mr. Pop’s lab has adopted a family in need at Christmas. This was coordinated through the local United Way. This year when the lady at the lab called the United Way to adopt a family she was told the United Way will no longer be doing the White Dove project but instead asked that everyone take toys and food to the fairgrounds and everything would be distributed from there.

I called the United Way today and asked why they had discontinued the project in the way it had been done before. Before, we got all the food and gifts for the family and delivered everything to the home the weekend before Christmas. I think we all looked as forward to that day as we looked forward to Christmas when we were kids. The lady at the United Way said the project had been discontinued because it was “too much work” for the few people who used to coordinate the project. Too much work once a year?

I reminded the lady I was talking to that this was going to be a difficult holiday for a whole lot of families, maybe more than there has been at anytime in the recent history. She repeated her line about “too much work”. What work? All they had to do in the past was match up families in need with businesses who wanted to help. We did all the work buying, wrapping and delivering what was wanted and needed by “our families”.

I explained to the lady that dropping off food and gifts at the fairgrounds just didn’t have the same feeling about it as seeing a mother receive food and gifts for her children when she had no hope for getting anything for them. Especially when the kids were getting some of the things they had asked of Santa. Talk about your heart swelling to three times its size.

We have a lot of money to spend and a lot of love to share and by god, we’re going to find someone to receive our Christmas gifts. We are going to call other organizations and churches until we find a family who needs us. No one is going to tell us that there isn’t a Santa Claus this year because we know better.

3 Comments:

Blogger fallenmonk said...

Good for you. I gave up on United Way a while back over similar issues and now go straight to the charity. Your local churches will have some families that are in need of some Christmas cheer.

December 01, 2011 8:32 AM  
Blogger The Future Was Yesterday said...

and by god, we’re going to find someone to receive our Christmas gifts

Keep on keeping on!!!!

December 01, 2011 11:54 AM  
Blogger Sewmouse said...

I won't have anything to do with "United Way" after their outrageous fund-raising activities in the 70's and 80's - giving kickbacks to employers who strong-armed their employees into payroll deduction giving.

It will be a cold day in a very hot place before they see another dime from this girl!

December 07, 2011 12:33 PM  

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