Saturday, December 12, 2009

Christmas is for Giving, Not Getting

I was in the midst of a post featuring some of my favorite hostess gifts when I stumbled upon this adorable little girl, Kate, and her story. This pulls rank.
Kate is a beautiful and vibrant 5 1/2 year old. In June her mother noticed a tremor in her hand. After a visit to the hospital, a CT scan revealed a brain tumor. She was immediately admitted to the PICU and so began a family battle for Kate's life. Kate is currently being treated at Phoenix Children's Hospital. In the midst of great strife and grief, her parents contemplated what would come for the holidays, if Kate would be home for Christmas, and what it must be like for other families on the oncology unit to be dealing with the same worries. Separation from loved ones at Christmas, siblings separated from each other due to a hospitalization, financial struggles that come with mounting medical bills, and parents' desires to bring their families together to share the holiday. Out of their grief and selflessness grew "Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas." The Mcrae's were determined to give to the other families on the oncology unit. Their hope is to ensure that all children hospitalized on Christmas still have a special Christmas that included gifts, toys, and holiday cheer.
As the Mcrae's and many other families struggle to find hope and joy in a hospital room over Christmas, their request is for others to bring happiness to other sick children by donating toys, gift cards, clothes and craft supplies to make their Christmases special.


Guidelines:

Everything sent has to be brand new (for infection control purposes). Please send the gifts unwrapped, so we can sort everything accordingly. Things that can be wiped down or washed are best, not things of cloth that cannot be washed. We will be collecting for kids of all ages. There will be mostly english and spanish speaking families. We are hoping to receive all of the donations by December 15th.

Suggested Donations:
Toys: Hotwheels, barbies, action figures, legos, etc
Games: Videogames, board games, game stations (playstation, WII, game cubes, etc)
Music: Ipods, cd players, cds, headphones, etc
Craft Items: Paints, beading kits, markers, drawing pads, window paints, wood art, etc
Clothing: hats, Pjs, slippers, etc
Personal Care: Nail polish, body lotion, chap stick, etc

Ship To:
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship
Attn: Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas
2211 E Pecos Road, Suite 2
Chandler, AZ 85225

As you're out shopping this weekend for your loved ones, remember the true meaning of Christmas, to give not to receive. Pay it forward by picking up a few things to ship to help make Kate's Crazy Cool Christmas a joyous success for all those innocent, precious kids that aren't as forunate to as you to be home for Christmas. Count your blessings and keep them in your prayers!

Merry Christmas!
cBv

2 comments:

  1. How wonderful that you're putting this out there. This is what Christmas is all about!

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  2. So very sad. I think too many people think of the materialistic things and although I "dream" of certain things to have on my blog I rarely buy those things! This is such a beautiful heart felt post:) Thanks for sharing!

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