Give Joy this Christmas at Wedgwood

“Thank you so much for the gifts. I loved them all dearly. This year has been very hard. Thank you so much for making it so much better. I hope that everyone gets to experience the love you send around. I will always remember your kind deed.”

The holiday season for the kids who live in Wedgwood Christian Services’ Residential homes can be tough. Many, ranging in age from 7 to 18 years old, have experienced immense trauma in their young lives, and most do not have any healthy or safe family to spend the holidays with. It’s not uncommon to hear a child say that their first Christmas at Wedgwood is the first time they’ve had presents under the tree.

Knowing this, the dedicated team at Wedgwood works hard to make sure that the kids in our care can experience and learn healthy, fun holiday traditions, like holiday parties, decorating a tree, Christmas morning breakfast, singing carols, and opening presents.

“Christmas time exemplifies what we do here at Wedgwood,” said Michael Voss, Wedgwood’s Residential Program Manager. “As a child, I assumed everyone received toys and all sorts of goodies at Christmas. When I started at Wedgwood as a direct care staff, my heart was broken by the reality of that not being true. Unfortunately, some of our kids have never received anything at Christmas.”

Wedgwood Christian Services supporters have a strong history of ensuring that each child in Wedgwood’s care receives gifts, and joy, at Christmas. Going all the way back to Wedgwood’s founding in the 1960s, community members, churches, and Wedgwood Guilds would come together to provide holiday meals, stockings, and treats.

“Each year we have our kids create a Christmas wish list where they are able to request what they want,” said Voss. “It’s still amazing to see the response from the extended Wedgwood family and the community – their love and generosity is truly amazing – I wish they could see the look on the kids’ faces when they receive a wrapped gift with their name on it! ”

The joy that comes with the holiday season is especially important this year.

“The kids in Wedgwood’s care often struggle with change, so this year has been especially hard for them,” said Vivian TerMaat, Wedgwood’s Chief Advancement Officer. “That extra spark of joy can really have a tremendous impact on their receptiveness to the therapeutic activities and treatment that are so crucial to their healing and development.”

Individuals, families, businesses, churches, and other groups or organizations can get involved and give joy at Wedgwood this year by:

• Providing a gift basket for one of our Residential Homes
  • Gift baskets are due by 12/15 and can be dropped off during one of the following timeslots:
    • Monday, December 14 (4:00pm – 7:00pm)
    • Tuesday, December 15th (9:00am – 12:00pm)
• Purchasing items for stockings
  • Sign up for Project Christmas Stocking here.
  • Items are due 12/3 and can be dropped off during one of the following timeslots:
    • Wednesday, December 2 (4:00pm – 7:00pm)
    • Thursday, December 3 (9:00am – 12:00pm)
• Donating to the Christmas Fund
  • Visit www.wedgwood.org/give and note “CHRISTMAS/BIRTHDAY FUND” in the Comments
• Creating Christmas cards

For additional information visit www.wedgwood.org/christmas or email mbowser@wedgwood.org