Happy Tuesday!

By Joe W.

Today marks the tenth day before Christmas. If you’re like me, you still have a whole list of people who you need to shop for! Lucky for me, I am able buy gifts for my family and friends.

But there are some families who can’t buy gifts, even for their own children. Here at APR, we have done adopt a family for several years. I have always embraced this, and brought in gifts. This year, I was given the chance and honor to help Plymouth Goodfellows hand out the gifts to families in need.

When you drop off a toy at the charity, you don’t get to completely see how really happy these family are to receive the gifts! Our culture has somewhat taught children that naughty kids receive nothing. So being able to provide a gift to their kids felt doubly important!! First, it provided a gift to the children but secondly, it let the child know that he or she was not a bad kid. Each family that attended, expressed their emotions differently, but universally, it was with joy and excitement. This one mothers reaction I keep picturing….. her child got a bike.

The child was not present, but the mother was so excited that I doubt she would have been any more excited if we had given HER a brand new car. I helped her carry the bike and other presents to her car. The whole walk to the car, she just kept expressing how grateful she was and how excited she was to give her child a bike. That alone made the whole time worth it! What a fantastic feeling!

I think we should all take a minute and reflect on our own situation. If we need help, then we should ask for it, and if we can help others, then we should help those who need it. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season.