This past Monday, Arley and I met up with her Bristol Blues teammate Christian outside of Connecticut Children's Medical Center so that the two of them together could deliver the last remaining batch of toys we collected and donate them to the Oncology Clinic and Radiology Department.
It was great watching the two of them pull a huge wagon full of toys around the hospital and help to stock the toy closets in preparation for Christmas delivery. It's humbling knowing that we get to be a very small part in making other children happy this holiday season who will not be home to spend the festivities with their families.
I remember full well that this was us last year, stuck in the hospital for Christmas and how heartbreaking it was knowing that Arley's biggest concern was "How will Santa find me here in the hospital? How will he know where I am?" At an unusual loss for words I just explained that "He knows exactly where you are and he won't forget about you."
It didn't make it any easier, it was hard on us both, especially missing out on my brothers annual Christmas Eve party, but waking up to some Christmas presents left out for Arley made it a tad bit easier knowing that regardless of where we ended up, Santa would always find us.
In the grand scheme of things, I know this still isn't enough in comparison for all that both Connecticut Children's and Massachusetts General have done for us, but every little bit helps and makes a huge impact on other children in Arley's situation and for that I am thankful to be apart of.
We also plan to continue this tradition again next year. This time starting earlier in the summer with hopes of partnering up with the Bristol Blues to host a toy night for donations with perhaps some type of perk included (to be determined at a later date), partner up with some local small businesses as well as a local police station so that we can expand more and bring joy to even more children and families.
With all that being said we want to thank all of our donors for providing extra funding to purchase toys and again a huge thank you to our anonymous toy donor for helping us provide for the families over at Christopher's Haven.
Until then, we will see you all next year..... you know, only a week away now...
Ever since Arley was 3 months old I have taught her the art of giving and that during the holidays it is far better to give rather than to receive. So, ever since her very first Christmas, we have purchased toys and have donated them to various organizations.
As each year came, I challenged ourselves to add one more organization to our list than the year before so that we were touching more lives and making a bigger difference. Whether to Toys for Tots, Police Stations, our local News Stations, Children's hospitals etc we have always done it without fail.
This year though has been different. As a single mom I had to become creative, savvy, and think outside the box. I turned outgrown clothes and toys into cash and hoarded the money for months only spending it if I came across a really great deal on clearance (Target during the summer I'm looking at you!)
I also created a GoFundMe when I teamed up with the Bristol Blues to raise additional funds and tried to find a local police station to hook up with too. I was met with a lot of rejection from the police stations because they were already well invested in holding toy drives (rightfully so!) and couldn't coordinate anything additional.
However, the gift giving Gods must have been watching me because they sent an angel in the form of a Police Officer. I won't mention the name because I know that this police officer is very humble and doesn't want to take any credit. (even though the local newspaper ran a story on this person!) The police officer didn't make any promises, but assured that whatever was in their power to do to help Arley with her toy drive that they would do it.
And let me just say that this police officer came through in the biggest way possible! Arley and I were invited down to the police station and welcomed to any of the toys they had available so that we could donate them. We chose specifically to donate a good majority of the toys we selected there to go to families staying at Christopher's Haven for Christmas, as well as the Oncology clinic at Mass General and to the toy closet at the place she received her radiation treatment.
The rest of the donations we purchased on Black Friday with our own money plus the additional $125 raised on the GoFundMe will be dispersed through a bunch of local community organizations that we hand selected whom we thought would benefit the most.
While Arley and I may not have much ourselves at times, we have always felt the need to give back to others and spread the love and good karma to all with the understanding that whatever good we put out into the world, the good will eventually make it's way back to us.
To be continued.....
