Rescuing Christmas for a Grateful Grandma
Every Wednesday and Friday you can find a 60-year-old grandmother of eight volunteering at The Salvation Army Midway Citadel Corps Community Center food pantry. Her name is Patricia, and she’s there for two distinct reasons: it’s fun and she’s grateful.
Patricia, who lives with three of her daughters and three of her grandkids, finds filling boxes of food for pantry clients fun because she says, “I like helping people.” And she knows how important this food is to those who pull up to the curb to receive it; she was once a food pantry client herself.
Patricia is grateful for that assistance and for the help she’s received through The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which provides Christmas presents for children, teens, and seniors who otherwise wouldn’t receive any. For several years she’s received gifts for her grandkids, who range in age from a newborn to a 12-year-old, through Angel Tree.
“I’m on a fixed income,” she said. “Angel Tree comes in handy.” Without the program, she said there would be no gifts for her grandchildren. She remembers a few of the gifts that have made her grandbabies’ faces light up: make up, Hot Wheels, Ninja Turtles. “It means a lot to me,” she said.
That gratitude is why she started volunteering with The Salvation Army. “I didn’t have money to make Christmas for them, so The Salvation Army made a big contribution for my grandkids,” she said. “In return, I volunteer my time to give back to the community in the same way that I have received from The Salvation Army.”
In the coming days, Patricia will be preparing Thanksgiving food baskets at the Midway corps for her neighbors in need and wondering what gifts she’ll be receiving through Angel Tree this year, already picturing her grandchildren excitedly unwrapping them. “Without The Salvation Army, a lot of stuff wouldn’t be possible for me,” she said. The magic of Christmas morning chief among them.
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For tax purposes: The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division EIN is 36-2167910.