A winter coat. A pair of work shoes. A toaster. A large cooking pot. A rug for the floor so their children’s feet won’t freeze.
The magical question, “What do you want for the holidays?” evoked startlingly similar responses from the 14 families chosen by Project Hospitality to receive gifts through one of our partner’s generous “Adopt-a-Family” program.
These families had no tinsel-toned wishes for the most recent gadgets or fashions. They only dreamed of getting what they need.
“I feel so blessed, so thankful” said Luis, his eyes welling with tears, when he saw so many beautifully wrapped packages arrive at the door of his tiny bungalow in South Beach. Inside the gift boxes were jackets and baby clothes, hats, scarves and shoes, for himself, his wife and his four children.
“I haven’t bought gifts in the past four years,” admitted Luis, who lost his savings when his landscape company failed, and now works long hours at a Brooklyn hardware store to simply afford the basics — food, rent and heat.
“It’s a constant struggle, but everybody pushes us forward. My family, now this…” he said, his voice filled with awe. “I am so grateful. I think when you’re in need, sometimes God puts something in the way for you, even if you don’t ask for help. This is amazing.”
One of New York’s largest poverty fighting organizations and a cherished supporter of Project Hospitality connected some of the city’s most impoverished families with donors who wanted to make a difference in their lives.
On Staten Island, these families celebrated Christmas by opening boxes of brand-new, thick, winter jackets and other precious necessities that would have been out of reach without the warm-hearted secret Santas.
“There wouldn’t have been any gifts without this,” said Elizabeth, who decorated her family’s chilly, walk-up apartment with inexpensive holiday trinkets to impart some of the feel of the season. “We say thank you and God bless the people who gave these gifts.”
On Christmas morning, Luis’s family bowed their heads in gratitude, then tore open their bounty of gifts.
“From the bottom of my heart, I am forever in debt to them,” he said, addressing the family who had purchased and tenderly wrapped all the presents for them. “They truly took the time and love to make our Christmas an unforgettable one. They are truly doing God’s work on Earth.”