Mitch Traphagen file photo.
As we age, we begin to see Christmas for what it really is — a time of love of family and friends, a time of giving. It is a time, perhaps even regardless of which, if any, faith you choose, when optimism triumphs over adversity. It is not materialism, it is about love and comfort; it is about what you give, not what you may receive.
But that is a lesson that is best learned with age. For children, learning that Christmas can be a time of adversity — and even sadness, in the unseen but still visible tears of parents who are unable to provide even the smallest of gifts for their children — is a lesson that would come far too soon. It takes time to accumulate wisdom, but the laughter and smiles of children are short enough lived. They should not be forced to fade before their time.
This Christmas, as with most Christmases, families and children need your help. For the past 30 years, the Good Samaritan Mission in Wimauma has worked to make Christmas brighter for the children of migrant and disadvantaged families. This year, that act of goodwill has been threatened. A major sponsor, a person or an organization that has given generously in the past, is unable to help. And that could mean empty shelves for parents and children in need on Christmas.
The organization is in desperate need of toys and supplies for children ranging from newborns to age 18. Everything is needed — it could be clothing, bicycles or even perfume and cologne for the older children. It could also be in the form of donations, allowing the Good Samaritan volunteers to choose what is needed.
What are needed are gifts for children — but they aren’t gifts for the parents in the strictest sense. The parents in need have worked throughout the year, attending classes and earning tokens to “purchase” the gifts.
Christmas dreams: the warmth of a family, a home, hearth and presents under a beautiful tree. For some children in South Hillsborough, that dream may be tempered without the help of the community. Mitch Traphagen file photo.
“When it comes to the toys, the parents have earned the opportunity to pick the donated toys for their kids,” said Pastor Bill Cruz Jr. of Good Samaritan Mission. “It’s a matter of the parents coming in — they take classes here to improve their lives — and that gives them the opportunity to ‘purchase’ these toys with tokens. It has a greater value to them because they have earned these toys that they want to give to their kids — it gives it so much more meaning.”
The parents are then given wrapping paper and ribbons, to provide them the joy that comes with giving. In taking classes to improve their lives, in volunteering to help others at the mission, they have worked to earn it. But a last-minute financial setback threatens it all.
The Good Samaritan Mission Christmas shopping event is to be held on Saturday, Dec. 13, when parents can use the tokens they have earned to “purchase” toys for their children. Any toys or donations would need to be received before that date.
“All of that is in jeopardy this year,” Cruz said. “If there is anything that you can do to assist us, we would very much appreciate it. We need gifts for boys and girls from newborn to 18. We are especially short on items for ’tweens and teenagers. If you can help in any way, please give our office a call at 813-634-7136.”
Good Samaritan Mission is a 501(c)3 Christian mission and has been serving the community for more than 30 years.
“We are really short of toys and there is a lot of need,” Pastor Cruz said.
Just imagine it: a young girl or boy seeing a bicycle under the tree, one that had your hand involved in the squeals of joy and following years of happiness. That is a gift for the heart — and from the heart. And even the smallest thing would mean so much. There are many lessons to be learned over the course of a lifetime, but young children simply should not learn some of life’s harder lessons at Christmas — at least not unnecessarily so.
Please contact Pastor Cruz if you can help to make Christmas brighter for deserving children and their parents in our area.
The need this Christmas is greater than ever. For more information, visit the Good Samaritan Mission website at www.gsmission.org.
Deputies Darlins, a longtime grassroots organization founded by former Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Community Service Officer Donna Budd, is also collecting toys. For more information visit tinyurl.com/observer-deputiesdarlins.
