St. Jude's Ranch for Children

At work, it is the business' 10 year anniversary this year. Instead of having an office party, we decided to give to the community by donating Christmas gifts and decorations to a house at St. Jude's Ranch for Children. The campus is a place where children go whose parents are no longer allowed to care for them and they have no where else to go. The house we chose had a family of 5 kids ranging from 1yr to 10 yrs. The foster parents had 2 young girls as well. When I first went to meet the parents, the baby just clung to me and didn't want me to go! He was sooo cute! We all went back on a rainy, cold Saturday afternoon and put up more lights outside then they ever had and a bought a Christmas tree for them as well. They had lots of other decor to set out as well and the house just looked amazing once we were done. They fed us dinner as well and the kids were so sad to see us leave. They loved the attention and had so much fun.


The following week Jill and I went to Toys R Us and bought gifts for each of the kids. It was sooo fun picking out little black baby dolls and barbies and finding all of the things they wanted. If we hadn't decided to forgo our office Christmas dinner and buy the gifts for them, they might not of had nice gifts this year. The only way they get nice Santa gifts is if someone donates to the campus or chooses their house specifically to donate to. And who knows if those donations are just hand-me-down used stuff or actual gifts they want. Just gave us all warm fuzzies to know that we really are making a difference for someone this holiday season. And what better people than children who bring the Christmas spirit to us to much more than we do for ourselves! It was a great event and something I'd love to keep in mind for the future for our family.