The Grand Number Of Families Helped Thanks To All Of Santa's Helpers

FR JOHN.PAT and volunteers Debbie,John delivered to 71 FAMILIES & 201 Children

Although PEACHESS has been sick for some time she delivered to 22 FAMILIES & 25 Children

Dorothy our volunteer helped 15 families.

Our total is 108 FAMILIES Subtotal- 226 Children Our volunteer Dorothy did not get an exact number on how many children were in these families.She handed out toys to needy parents for their children in a poor section.Some parents took 3 toys per child some only took 1.Some children picked out a toy.

Picture of a tree one of the families sent in

Several Items Left Behind From Holiday Collection

This double stroeller is going to a needy mom today.She has 2 little ones,ages 1 and 2 yrs old.

Presents for 3 Women & Their Children For Christmas

As you can see below they were all smiles

A BASKET OF JOY FOR CHRISTMAS

This lovely basket with other gifts was donated by a woman from Medford

F.Y.I

Alot of the children that we helped for Christmas were children who's parents were told they were to old to recieve toys.The cut off for alot of Organizations and churches is 11 or 12 yrs old.We feel its not fair to give gifts to some family members and not others.And due to all those who helped us we made sure every person in a family recieved a gift.Those older than 16 yrs old recieved atleast 1 gift including a parent.

This bike & Helmet was donated from a Maple Shade Family

This little boy said this is the best present he has ever gotten.
This is the first time he has ridden a bike.His mom wanted us to thank the
family again.SO THANK YOU!

A BABY GIRL DUE IN 3 WEEKS

A woman asked us if we could give her daughter some baby girl clothes.Will be her first granddaughter.They have a crib,onesies,stroller ,1 package of diapers,an outfit to bring the baby home in,bottles,receiving blankets and 1 baby toy.We would like to help them but we need some outfits 0-3 mos for this family.

Tomorrows drop off

We learned of a woman who had been promised to receive help from a person.After walking a half hour to a public parking lot and waiting over an hour she realized no one was showing up.Yes another single mom with no vehicle and trying to make ends meet.Although her 2 foot tree had been decorated there was no gifts under her tree Christmas morning.We heard about her story and FR John realized Santa's sled must of broken down.We told the lady why Santa did not make it to her house.Assured the woman we were bringing the items intended for her children.Reluctantly she gave us her address.She lives in Mullica Hill.Not even close to where we deliver.Due to such a heart breaking story & disappointed children we will try to be there before noon in the morning.

OUR WISH LIST

GAS CARD SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO DRIVE TO THOSE WE HELP
CLOTHES FOR A FEW NAKED BARBIES WE HAD DONATED TO US
A BUILDING SO WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE CRAMPED IN OUR GARAGE
Always can use children & baby items in season

We had 4 footballs donated

And when we learned a boy liked sports we added one in with the other 3 gifts.Yes thats right from us each child
recieved 4 gifts this year.

FRUIT BASKET & Tree for 30 yr daughter & 75 yr mom

The daughter had emailed and said it had been so long
since they had gotten anything for the holidays.
She said it would be so nice if someone would just remember
them this holiday.SAY NO MORE WE WILL REMEMBER YOU!
AND WE DID

We recieved stockings also 4 Christmas

Before going out the door remember;

Tomorrow is a mystery.Today is a gift.That is why its
called a PRESENT!

3 More Drop offs until Christmas

Today have a drop off in Moorestown around 1 pm.
Tomorrow have 2 drop offs near Little Egg Harbor before noon.
Morrestown has a 16 yr old son.Mother has alot of health issues and can not work.
Both families near Little Egg Harbor have 3 children under the ages of 6 yrs.

CHRISTMAS FOR US WILL BE SPENT WITH FAMILY.
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL THAT EVERYONE DOES TO HELP US MAKE THE HOLIDAYS NICE FOR FAMILIES THAT ARE STRUGGLING.ALL WE CAN SAY IS
YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

2 emails that came in last week

A woman emailed us saying she was hungry.Her and her children had nothing to eat.I explained to her we do not normally do food.And gave her a list of several food banks.One nite later our phone rang after 9 pm at nite.It was the lady who sent us the 2 emails.She went on and on how she had no way to the food bank.How her health was bad and her children had nothing to eat.By morning FR John took his food out of his freezer and refrigerator for this family.Food was delivered.And when the woman answered the door there on her table were several packs of cigarettes the name brand no less.She was grateful and told us after the New Years she will have food stamps.(I now understand why she has been short on money for food.)

TODAYS DROP OFF

Left house around 10 am.Arrived at 1st drop off by 11;30 am.FR John had to have his WAWA Coffee first.When we arrived there we met a woman carrying a 5 month old baby boy into the house.Boy timing is everything.When the woman realized who we were she was so excited.She had been asking for help for sometime and thought no one was going to come through for her and her 2 sons.This is her story.After 7 yrs living in an abusive situation she finally had enough one day and decided she had to leave.Her 8 yr old son and her left with only the clothes on their back.Leaving behind toys,cable tv,Ipods,computers and nice furniture.They moved into a shelter.The place was over crowded but atleast they had each other.She now has a place for her and her children to live and some mattresses for beds and a few pieces of furniture.A tv that is not hooked up to cable .They can watch videos on it however.The toys that they have will be the ones that they open on Christmas.They need household items such as silverware,toiletries,
blankets,towels,pots n pans,pot holders,bowls etc..She is determined to make it.And we think with alittle help she will do just fine.
Next drop off 12;30 noon met the dad at the door.He is a single dad raising his son the best that he knows how.He works seasonal and in the Winter he struggles with the bills,especially to heat the house.Like the woman before him he was overwhelmed with the items we gave.
Arrived home around 2;30 pm earliest in awhile. Now I am going to take a nap.

2 families we helped for Christmas

Dad with crushed arm.Hurt on the job.No income as Workman's comp does not want to pay anything and disability feels its Workman's comp responsibility.Mean while his arm is useless.Has no feeling in it.We gave him a brand new Chaps Coat and his family a gift certificate for groceries.Also heavy insulated gloves for dad so his fingers wont get frost bite in the Winter if he is outside.Which could happen due to no feeling in his hand.His 2 sons ages 2 and 10 yrs old received cars,trucks,puzzles,transformer coloring books and crayons,magnetic alphabets,books,fire truck that makes sounds,blocks and some winter clothes.All new thanks to generous donars.Wife received a warm cozy pink sleeper.

Single mom with 3 children under 6 yrs.2 girls ages 3 & 5 yrs ,youngest is boy.The 3 yr old received 2 dolls ,one actually crys.A few stuff characters from Sesame Street that move or make noise.Like tickle me elmo.5 yr old girl received game CHUTES n LADDERS,doll with a small stroller,tea set with pretend groceries included.1 coloring book and a 3 wheel pink scooter.Baby boy received soft blocks,baby walker,big soft ball,2 soft cars,and some Winter clothes.They had 2 cats which we threw in a bag of cat food that Debbie our volunteer donated.
Both of these families were very thankful for everything received.And they wanted us to thank all who made it possible.SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY!THESE FAMILIES WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS THANKS TO YOUR GENEROSITY!

NEEDED ASAP FOR KEN

Need a narrow type shower chair with no arms.Ken would like to get in the shower.instead of getting sponge baths.Ken is the man who recently became paralyzed due to Hurricane Irene's damage.

A strange request but medically needed

A woman emailed us and asked for stool softeners,prune juice and food with fiber.She told us of her daughter who was now 15 yrs old.She has been a quadriplegic since she was an infant.Her ex boyfriend had shaken her as an infant so much that she became paralyzed.Although he is still in jail as far as she knows her daughters prognosis is not good.Although her daughter needs round the clock care and does not live with her.She visits every weekend.Paralyzed people are not as active as someone who can move around.And it is very easy for them to become impacted which can lead to more medical complications.We were more than pleased to give her these items plus a soft blanket and an egg crate for this child to sleep on.She also received a $50 gift card.

Short Note 2 all who donated/volunteered

So far we have seen many tears of happiness.And recieved lots of hugs from those we have given Christmas gifts to.Thanks to all who helped these families you's have restored HOPE,FAITH in mankind.God Bless you all!

A Sad Situation

2 of our holiday volunteers Mary & Debbie visited a family that is really struggling.Although it was different days they both agreed on one thing,its a very sad situation.The house is sparse with old furniture that is worn.There is no Christmas tree nor gifts.Their refrigerator is almost empty.The children play on a bare wooden floor.The only thing that resembles a holiday is coming is a torn paper that the children wrote MERRY CHRISTMAS on.And the paper is taped on the wall.The children are excited that both of our volunteers bought them some gifts and a small bag of clothes.They asked about a tree.No one knew they did not have one until the volunteers showed up at their house.A small 1 yr old has only a diaper on and seems like a happy baby boy.Unaware of the hardships the family is going threw.The mother is a single 50ish yr old.She has no car,and must walk over a half an hour for groceries when she has food stamps.The last 2 weeks of every month the food gets scarce.The children do get a meal through the school when they are there.DYFS is involved.Trying to help a family where they have gone from bad to worse.But its not enough.We will give them a tree and pray that someone will donate some food or a gift card to us.We would like to put some food in their refrigerator so they can atleast have a nice Christmas dinner.We normally don't get food.Occasionally we get turkeys for Thanksgiving or a ham for Christmas.We are hoping someone will read this and make an exception this year for this family.

We have some of the nicest volunteers

We do not only have wonderful people who donate to us.We have wonderful volunteers.Just today John our volunteer spent his day off at Kens working on making a platform for the end of his ramp.Just another example of how 1 person can make a difference in someone else's life.
We did 2 drop offs and donated a bed to a family.Their daughter had been sleeping on the floor for sometime.We know this bed is bed bug free because it was FR Johns.He now has a therapeutic one for his back.So the 2 yr old bed has found a good home.And we threw some Christmas gifts in for the children.

This was 1 toy pickup

Laurie,Ellen And Stan surprised us with a car load of new toys for families that were not on our list.32 families emailed us 2 days before these items arrive.We were so afraid we were going to have to turn some of the families away.Thanks to these 3 generous donars we are able to help them.

That's right 2 new bikes.1 for a boy 1 for a girl,plus helmets.Now is that awesome or what.
Debbie our volunteer made the pick up since we were some where else doing drop offs.




The gifts were for children 12 mos to adult in the back of car all marked in separate bags.You could tell EVERYONE who donated to us put much thought and time into their gifts.This will be the best year we have .You would never know by my garage that the economy is in trouble.Why?Because all of Santa's helpers have gone above and beyond.







Even Debbie is excited to show us all of the items for the families.The children this year will get 4-6 gifts each.Last year they received 2-4 gifts each from us.That did not count on what people had bought specifically for their adopted family.

Looks like a Warehouse

This use to be my kitchen.Now it looks like a warehouse.And just think we are going to deliver all these.hate to see the gas bill.

Finally A baby Walker & Excersizor

MARLTON PICK UP

6 Foot Christmas tree

6 Foot Christmas tree went to a family in Toms River.
The husband wanted to surprize his family. This year they were not able to buy a real tree.


















Christmas decoration I threw in with tree

Small Christmas Trees

BEFORE



AFTER DECORATED

Deliveries today started at 10 am to 3:30 pm

Met a couple who came all the way from Long Branch for Christmas items for their 4 children.We met then at Wawa in Lakewood.
Drop off in Barnegat.Man lost his job after getting hurt.He is trying to get some kind of assistance in the mean time things look bleak.He has 2 boys and a wife.
Drop off at Manahawkin family of 3 children.Father had several heart attacks and now unable to work.
Drop off at Bayville.1 grand daughter.Grandma is on fixed income and has never bought a gift for her Christmas due to money has always been tight.This year would like to make a nice Christmas for her.Grandma wrote"I am not getting any younger.I would like a few gifts for my only granddaughter so she will have something to remember me by".Can you help?I live in Ocean County.

8:30 am Debbie the volunteer dropped off load of new toys.Then she picked up from me gifts for 6 adopted families.She is delivering to New Eygpt,Lakehurst,Lakewood,Bricktown and Toms River.In that order if everyone answers their door.I usually do not get started until 9 am but,during Christmas season I make an effort to start early.

Here's a Picture of Ken's New Ramp!!

A HUGE thank you our donor!!!  Here it is in all it's glory!

As I layed Sleeping

As I laid sleeping last nite little did I know people were sending emails to us.When I woke up around 3 am to use the rest room I thought I would check the computer.There was over 10 families asking for Christmas help.Yikes!I thought this must be a dream.Went back to bed.Nope,this morning those emails were there with more.Thank goodness Debbie our volunteer did a pick up of another new batch of toys not designated for any particular family.Guess I will start sorting items tomorrow.WHERE IS SANTA WHEN I NEED HIM??

1 of Santas helpers lives near Bamber Lake

On the way to get our pick up tonite we followed the GPS directions.Since it was already dark out we had trouble reading the street signs.Good thing we were not driving fast since the GPS continued telling us to go straight thinking maybe there was a road or bridge over the lake.There wasn't and if we had listened we would now be at the bottom of that lake.(And Fr John can't swim).Talked to a man who was jogging.He explained to us to go back on Lacey Rd and follow the road on the other side of the lake.Finally,success we found it.And we received 6 large boxes full of Christmas gifts.This woman is the sister to the woman in Marlton with the 2 Pekingese.Just think they made REYS OF HOPE a family affair.We are so delighted for the children that we were chosen.

YEAH! A RAMP HAS BEEN DONATED

Our holiday volunteer John went and picked up a ramp today for the man who was paralyzed from aftermath of Hurricane Irene.A woman in Marlton read his request and was nice enough to donate him one.Now that he will be actually able to get outside. It will only be a matter of time before he will be out and about .We could tell when we met him he was determined not to let this accident hold him down.Miracles do happen.Thanks to angels here on earth,doing Gods' work..

Our Recent Pickups

Met a real nice couple from Bordentown that donated a car load of children's toys,clothes and other items.
Picked up some Christmas gifts from a couple in Maple Shade who adopted several of the families.The car was over flowing.These families will be in shock when they see all the wrapped boxes.This couple also had the cutest little Pekinese dogs.We are truely blessed that this couple decided to help our families this year.They also donated some dog food for someone struggling to buy dog food right now.
Dropped off some items in Marlton and then did another pick up in Vincentown area.Long day.We are tired but after a good nite sleep we will start all over in the morning.
Gave our volunteer Debbie 10 trash bags full of toys,clothes,baby wipes and other items for 5 families that have lost everything and have been living in a motel.Yes,they are all in the same motel.So like Debbie said its all in one stop.However it is out of our area-Asbury Park .They sounded so desperate and Debbie was willing to drop off for us since we do not have much free time between drop offs and pick ups before Christmas.THANKS DEBBIE WITHOUT YOUR HELP THESE 5 FAMILIES WOULD NOT OF BEEN HELPED.We can't be 2 places at one time.

A Heartfelt Thank You To Us -

Here's our super FEEL GOOD for the year!!  It's wonderful to know we helped make a difference for this man!!

 

"Father John,

                   I want to thank you, Pat and everyone who is helping me. I can not thank you guys enough!  You basically saved my life and you don't even know it.  I was at a state of not wanting to wake up anymore and felt like a failure and loser.  You gave me strength to keep going on and a will to live.  I was stressed about food, gifts, Christmas, getting to my doctors appointments, my medications, stress on my girlfriend of 15 years who has dystonia, rent and bills. Your encouraging words, help, and the help from others has given me the hope that I had lost.  The many friends I had, don't even bother with me now and I felt so abandoned.  Strangers and people I don't even know have shown me more love and care then I can absorb at this moment. I don't know how to react.  When I get visitors from strangers, it brightens up my heart.   At one point I was wondering if there was a God or even hope.  People take it for granted that life will be easy.  It is only that way for me because of Father John, Pat, Debbie and Reys of Hope. Thank you all and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!"

 

DESPERATE

RECENTLY A MAN HAS BECOME PARALYZED AND IS IN NEED OF A RAMP.DUE TO HE RENTS AND HAS A LANDLORD HE IS UNABLE TO GET A PERMANENT RAMP.RIGHT NOW HE HAS NO WAY OUT OF HIS HOUSE WITHOUT A PORTABLE RAMP.HE IS TRYING TO GET WORK MANS COMP.BUT THEY TELL HIM TRY SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITIES.SOCIAL SECURITY TELLS HIM TO TRY WORKMAN'S COMP SINCE HE GOT HURT AT JOB SITE.A LAWYER IS HELPING HIM PRO BONO BECAUSE THIS MAN HAS NO INCOME RIGHT NOW AND IS BEHIND ON ALL HIS BILLS INCLUDING RENT.
THE LAWYER TOLD HIM THE CASE COULD BE TIED UP IN COURT FOR OVER 1 YEAR!

Tree we donated to a nice couple