Holly House....it's THAT important

At a recent team member meeting, we recounted the "feel good" moments of the Holly house event. It reminded us why we do this, and that we are doing it for the kids. It gave us a boost...after all of the energy had been poured into countless hours throughout the year, but especially those 3 days of set up and the event itself. Are we ready to do it again? The resounding answer was YES.

One of the toy areas - Photo copyright by Bob Adams

The vision of Pam Martinez, Director, is that Holly house is a magical place for these families. It's a place for fun, where they are respected and maintain dignity. They don't see "behind the curtain". They don't know what it takes to get that gymnasium to look like it had been there for weeks - and they shouldn't. When they arrive, some of them have tears of joy streaming down their faces. "This is all for us?" one of them was overheard saying.

Is Holly House important to these families? Absolutely. This event provides families with necessities as well as gifts for the holidays (which may be the only gifts these children receive). When families have to choose between heat, food, and extra things during the holidays, food and heat always win.

A volunteer accompanies a mother while shopping

A shopping escort helps each family through Holly House, carrying their bags, providing companionship, and making sure they understand where to go and what to do. This is a personalized shopping experience for the parents. They get to hand pick and tailor the gifts for each one of their children.

One woman waited patiently for her turn to enter Holly House. It became apparent that she was in active labor, with contractions about 9 minutes apart. While she shopped for the 6 children on her list, she breathed through the pain, yet continued on. As she left with a full heart, she mentioned that her water had just broken. Imagine her relief as she could head to the hospital knowing that Christmas was taken care of for her family.

We had a shortage of volunteers to escort families this year. At one point, this put our schedule behind by an hour. Our Program Manager alerted the families in the waiting area that we were doing the best we could. Another hour gone by, now about 2 hours behind, he sheepishly went to the waiting area again to update them. When he mentioned the volunteers we were lacking, several people looked expectantly at him, and he ventured "...unless any of you would like to help?" About 5 people raised their hands immediately. Another 20 soon joined the ranks.

After a short orientation, these people gave up their place in line and helped others through Holly House, then got back in line. One man, after seeing his wife had come through and received things for their family, sent her home yet continued to volunteer until Holly House closed down. His parting words to the Program Manager was that this opportunity was "the best Christmas present he had ever received".

The impact that Holly House makes on these families is great. We couldn't do it without our donors, volunteers, sponsors, and team members. We are grateful and blessed to be able to do what we can, and hopeful we can continue to expand Holly House with your help. 

Photo copyright by Bob Adams