Advent Calendar- Charity

My family has always been involved with the St. Vincent de Paul Society at our church. At Christmas everyone picks a gift for a needy family. My children always enjoyed being able to shop for another little boy or girl. They would happily search through the clothes to find just the right outfit. Then of course they had to find just the right toy or game for the child as well. The gifts are always left in the back of the the church until they are distributed to those in need.

I can remember my grandmother always being charitable and one Christmas I especially remember that she had bought a checkers set for one of the alter boys at our church. We had just walked out the door with our bags in hand when we saw the Marines standing there with the barrel for their Toys for Tots. My grandmother stopped and reached into her bag and pulled out the checkers set that she had just bought and dropped it in. When we got to the car I said to her, "But MaMaw you just bought that for Danny." She replied, "I will buy him something else, another needed it more today."

My sister was just a six year old child the first time she realized that there were others not as lucky as she was at Christmas. There was a little girl whom she was friends with down the road. On Christmas my sister wanted to go show her friend all that she had gotten from Santa. When she went to the girls house she found out that Santa had not come to their house at all. She came home crying. My grandfather made some calls to the Salvation Army and they were able to bring some things to the family, but my sister added her own doll that she had just gotten from Santa. The one she had just wanted to go show off.
Many years later the Catholic News published my sister's story in their Christmas edition.


I hope everyone remembers those less fortunate at Christmas time and throughout the year.






This is the twelvth blog in the series by GeneaBloggers Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2012.