Palm Coast, FL – (December 22, 2021) Behind the smiles and hugs of appreciation that signify a job well done just days before Christmas, there were countless volunteers who’ve been hard at work to ensure every last package was set to go.
It all seems so effortless to the general public, but stepping into the ‘Wow! Room’, the magnitude of the Christmas Come True operation becomes a reality.
Rows upon rows of tables line the room as big as a dining hall and on each are dividers separating wish lists, clothes-pinned to the strings running the length of the tables. Each child’s wish list is meticulously checked multiple times before the final distribution to parents, grandparents and care givers the week of Christmas, who arrive grateful their child will not have to go without this holiday season.
In addition to a coveted toy, wish lists are filled with requests that include new shoes, hoodies, sheets, blankets and other basic necessities so many children take for granted, but are precious gifts to children in need.
Elaine Lajoie is Christmas Come True founder Nadine King’s right hand, and on the Saturday before Christmas was neck deep at the secret staging area where volunteers checked, doubled checked and signed off on each of the 500 children’s wish lists.
“It’s very precise, what happens in here,” said Lajoie. “All these presents are going to come from the parents. The third or fourth check, we come over here and every family has their list up here that the children want. People shop and then we fill in the rest, and then we mark off everything that comes in and then we go and get the stuff that’s not here.”
But that’s not all.
“The children each get two stuffed animals that were donated by PetSmart, homemade cookies, a bike if they want a bike, and they also get a full Christmas dinner,” she said.
From gift wrappers to stocking stuffers filling the handmade stockings from the Grand Haven Women’s Club, it’s a hustle to the finish line ahead of the carefully scheduled pickup times.
This is Lajoie’s first year and she doesn’t begrudge a second of her time spent helping Christmas Come True.
“I actually just came to do a little volunteer work,” she said with a chuckle. “I started telling her my background, and she (King) said, ‘you know what, I need you to do something else’ … and how can you say no to this?”
Lending a hand on Saturday, volunteer Liz McKenna finds her own joy in helping oversee the finishing touches. Volunteering for the past year, she says the need is still great in Flagler County.
“Last year we had over 500 kids. People aren’t recovering yet and I think there’s a lot of underemployment and unemployment in the area. There’s a lot of poverty. We hear some really sad situations,” shared McKenna. “These aren’t people that are just looking for handouts, these people are really struggling.”
As a volunteer organization, the majority of the funds are dedicated to pulling off a near impossible feat for the lean group, but it doesn’t stop Christmas Come True volunteers from helping the community year round, relying on the Begin Again Home Goods reuse store to help meet the needs of families.
Many donors wait until the last quarter of the year to step up their giving, and McKenna says starting early or even becoming a recurring donor is one way to truly impact the organization’s ability to serve others.
“The name is kind of a misnomer – Christmas Come True, because we try to help these families all year around,” she said. “Our resources are very limited early in the year coming out of Christmas because the bulk of our resources that we raise during the year are spent on this. But if the community could help with donations earlier in the year it would allow us to provide more services.”
As for this Christmas, the volunteers will at least sleep well knowing they’ve made a difference in the lives of 170 families this holiday season, who will enjoy gifts under the tree and full tummy, thanks to the generosity of people across Flagler County.
For more information on Christmas Come True, visit https://christmascometrue.org/.
