Ellen DeGeneres and Justin Bieber recently spotlighted a school in Las Vegas by donating thousands of dollars and toys. It is a wonderful gift. The school has helped parents and children from that school with clothing, food, rental assistance and a myriad of other needs.
It got me to thinking about the use of donations at Christmas.
I was one of those poor kids . I remember the Salvation Army bringing Thanksgiving to our house and my father wanting them to take it back and my mother asking him not to do it. My father didn't like surprises and control freak that he was, his pride was more important than warm coats for his six kids.
Christmas is a great time to give.
I work in a school full of poor kids. They wear shoes which are too small or too big. Last year I bought a new winter jacket for one boy in my class and his parents made him give it to his little brother. So I bought him another one. Meeting the needs of one child doesn't always meet the needs of the others.
Another student showed up wearing a sweatshirt. She told me she didn't have a coat. It was 38 degrees that morning. Recently a little girl told me her mom sold her clothes to another girl in my class-they needed the money. The other girl showed up at school wearing her favorite dress. She pointed it out to me with a little sadness.
People do what they need to do to survive.
Our kids need warm clothing, new uniforms, new shoes, dental care, medical care and food. They need books to read, markers, colored pencils, crayons and notebooks. Some schools provide theses things-others don't. Most of my kids ask me if they can have glue, scissors, crayons and paper to take home. I let them when I have it. I consider them staples of childhood.
If you really want to donate during the holidays -don't.
Call up a school and tell them you would like to help out during the year. Get in touch with a teacher you know, or the social worker. Tell them you would like to help a child when the need arises. Don't give an amount.
Last year I paid for new glasses for a little boy who desperately needed them. I bought backpacks in the middle of the year for boys who did not have them. I bought a pair of shoes for a little girl who so dearly wanted a pair of flats like the other girls but only had tennis shoes.
I remember wearing hand me downs that were not even hand me downs from my sister. If it weren't for my first grade teacher, who used to put bags of clothing in my hands on the way out the door, I wonder what I would have worn?
I support four people. My salary is not great. The needs of kids don't start and stop at Christmas. Donations controlled by school districts or administration do not always get to kids when they need something. Every teacher I know buys necessities for kids in poor neighborhood schools. I just lost one of my best students because her mom lost her job and they were evicted. She cried. I did too. I tried to find a way to help her mom. Bah, humbug-no rental assistance around here! If I could have turned to a benefactor to hold them over another month, maybe something good could have happened, Instead, they moved to an ever poorer part of town. I forgot that was possible!
If you really want to make a difference hang on to your money. Offer year round. I have a list of teachers who have children who will need the help in the months to come.
Christmas magic comes and goes but a pair of shoes that fit, pants that don't have to be pinned together, socks without holes(or socks at all), a sweater to keep warm in the classroom, kids remember. There is nothing worse than coming to school worrying about the necessities of life.
I just wish teachers had access to a fund like that, without a lot of red tape. Our kids learn better when they don't have to worry about the basic necessities .
