HomeFront Thanks Donors to Annual Christmas Wishes Drive
To the Editor:
Thanks to our wonderful community for donating over 2,600 specially chosen gifts to HomeFront’s annual Christmas Wishes Drive. The pandemic didn’t slow Santa down or stop him from keeping his appointment with each HomeFront child who was waiting for him with a heart full of hope.
If you saw the thousands of gifts arriving on the HomeFront dock for our kids during our annual Christmas Wishes Drive, you too would believe in Santa Claus. These gifts chosen with each child’s special wishes in mind delight and entertain children who would otherwise have gotten nothing on Christmas morning. But, most importantly, they also keep a sense of wonder and belief alive in many of them who live chaotic and scary lives.
As with so many other things this past year, the Christmas Wishes Drive of 2020 took on a much deeper meaning for our HomeFront kids. For our older kids the gifts were like a hug from someone out there in a year of social isolation. They were a reminder that they, and Christmas, were not forgotten — that they were still “seen” in a pretty dark time. For our little ones those gifts reaffirmed their belief — in Santa Claus, in an end to “the sickness,” in a better future for their family, in hope, and in the fact that they are loved — all the things that help them stay mentally healthy and resilient.
We are overwhelmed by the kindness of hundreds of people in our community who made sure that those children who live daily under the specter of homelessness were remembered by Santa.
Kelsey Espada
Volunteer Coordinator, HomeFront
Wendy Lipka
Drive Volunteer, HomeFront
Princeton Avenue, Lawrenceville