Secret Santa

Brian and I have been recruited by the higher ups at the church we attend to help spearhead a sort of secret santa for 30 children in our congregation whose mothers (three of whom are single parents) are struggling with cancer. Last year, they were given a 3000 dollar anonymous donation by another church in the area to use for the effort, but sadly the donation didn't come this year so we are on our own. We have enlisted our church members to help, but many of them are under similar circumstances and donating even 5 dollars is a sacrifice. While we've accepted the fact that our contribution to these families might amount to nothing more than a token gift, I would love it if we could somehow turn this into a Christmas they never forget. We have one week to gather donations (they're due by December 14) and another week to shop so we've got to kick this into high gear.

I know that many families set aside a certain amount of money each season to donate to a worthy cause or a family in need. Do you do something like that? If so, and if you do not yet have someone in mind, would you consider donating that money to help my church family? Even one dollar would help tremendously.

If it is something you'd be interested in, you can send your donation through paypal to b_hayes00 (those are zeros not oh's) (at) hotmail dot com. I'm not sure if there is a notes option, but if so, please indicate Christmas or Secret Santa so we can make sure it gets to the right place, or you can email me at anniesblog (at) gmail dot com and we'll discuss how you can help.

Thanks for indulging me by reading this! Merry Christmas.