Every once in awhile, you get an email that just stops your world. You read it, get emotional and give thanks and understand that each of us makes a difference. I received such an email from a young woman who recounted how one of Santa’s elves from LHNC gave her such hope during Christmastime many years ago.
She was just a teenager when she found out she was pregnant and most of her family and friends were not joyous. In fact, many had advised her to terminate her pregnancy. She was scared, isolated and felt like nobody knew what she was going through. When one of our group members handed her a gift, they expressed joy for her being pregnant and grabbed another toy for her unborn baby and said, “Here, this is your baby’s first Christmas gift”.
As if that wasn’t enough, our group member said “this unborn baby won the lottery having you as a mother”. Right then and there she wrote, that she made up her mind, and she decided she was going to be the best mother she could be. In fact, she now runs a daycare center for kids with teenage mothers, just like she was.
As she wrote this message years later, she described how much this encounter meant to her at the time. Too many people take their lives for granted and don’t appreciate the smaller things in life. It may seem like just a toy, or a single article of clothing, but it’s so much more than that…it’s the hope that their futures will be brighter.
Although you can donate gifts, clothing or donations all year round, this week ends the gift raising for Christmas on the Reservation 2017. If you’ve already donated gifts to LHNC, or money to our CrowdRise page, thank you.
Again, if you miss the cutoff date, don’t worry, give anyway! Your contributions will distributed to needy kids all year 'round.