You thought you had a Christmas list!
Reggie Peterson and his daughter Cathy Woods just finished stuffing 1,137 Christmas gift boxes with a cornucopia of booty like tennis balls, crayons and coloring books, T-shirts, school supplies, toy cars, dolls, jewelry and other stuff.
"We started in June this year," said Woods as she ushered a visitor through three rooms of her Riverside, L.I., home piled high with shoeboxes. "We've already started shopping for next season."
This is the 11th year the father/daughter duo and their extended family members have prepared Christmas gift boxes for poor children in other countries as part of Operation Christmas Child, an annual event organized by Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian evangelical and relief organization.
Woods estimates the family has packed some 8,600 gift boxes over the years. They have scrapbooks of letters from children in countries from Eastern Europe to Africa and Indonesia thanking them for their largesse.
"This is God's work," Peterson said. "I wake up every morning asking Him what He wants me to do that day."
Their efforts are all the more impressive when you consider:
- Peterson is a retired carpenter whose 84-year-old thumbs are twisted with arthritis.
- Both Woods, and her husband, Don, are between jobs.
- The money for the gifts - about $7,000 this year - is raised mostly through small donations from family and friends and from odd jobs and yard sales.
For instance, Peterson, a World War II veteran and Purple Heart winner who lives in East Merion, L.I., collects stray golf balls from woods surrounding the nearby Merion Golf Club. He then resells them to the same club golfers who misfired them for $15 a bucket.
"At 84, he does a thousand shoe boxes," Woods said. "He's sending Christmas gifts all over the world. What a legacy he's living, and leaving for his family!"
Woods, 51, started with the program in 1998 to honor a cousin, Naomi Tyler, who died of cancer that year. Her father was so moved by her effort that he joined in the same year.
The two do much of the shopping, though they have a network of friends who will call if they spot a bargain. Over the years they have learned to work red light, closeout and going-out-of-business sales like pros.
They never pay retail, seldom wholesale, and never take one if they can buy out the entire stock.
"See this doll?" Woods said, clutching a 5-inch tall, elaborately costumed toy. "This was supposed to sell for $20. We got 49 of them for $2 each. We told the store managers it was for the children, can you help us with the price?"
They get the shoeboxes from a local Payless Shoe Store. Peterson has also become adept at cutting and retaping cereal boxes so they are large enough to hold everything they want to send.
Toys tend to be low-tech - tennis balls and a stuffed toy go in each box - but no electronics, since the recipient may not be able to afford batteries. Liquids are banned since they may spill during shipping.
Soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes are popular, but crayons even more so, since they can be used for school lessons.
To help out with next year's toy giveaway, see www.samaritanspurse.org
Donations can also be sent to Woods at 140 Ackerly St., Riverhead, L.I., 11901.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We appreciates all comments and fosters free speech, however, keep in mind that we have young readers who peruse our site. Having said that, please refrain from using profane language, and know that flaming will not be tolerated. Spam will not be tolerated.