The little boy in a green sweater vest ran to the white-bearded man and screamed, “Santa!” The boy leaped. Leaning forward in his red, high-back chair, Santa caught the 4-year-old and gathered him into his lap. The boy looked up, dark eyes filling with wonder. Soon, he bounced off Santa’s red knee and shrieked at the sight of his new toy: “A bike!”
Standing beside Santa, Mrs. Claus looked down and smiled. Between two large Christmas trees that framed Santa and his velvet chair, the boy climbed onto a small bicycle with training wheels and pedaled off. A minute later, he arrived in an auditorium where children were opening boxes and pulling out gifts.
This was one snapshot from Christmas Blast, an annual event that my church, Summit Church, held on Saturday for more than 1,400 kids from Child Protective Services. Children rode on a two-story carousel, played inside a giant snow globe, had their faces painted, ate Christmas cookies, took photos with Santa and opened lots of presents. As one little girl ran past a large sleigh and reindeer and up a flight of stairs she exclaimed, “This is the best party ever!”
The party sparkles with magic. A foster child wrote to Santa and asked for a red truck last year. Why? Because his foster dad drove a red truck to work. The foster parents had no money for Christmas. Could CPS help? A CPS caseworker contacted Summit but did not mention the red truck. At Christmas Blast, the boy unwrapped his box. “Santa heard me! I got my red truck.”
The 5-year-old had come dressed in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, just like his foster dad. When he pulled out the remote control to drive his truck, Jacque Morgan, the CPS caseworker, felt her throat tighten. “We all just started crying,” Morgan said. “They had no idea what he wanted. That gift was a blessing from God.”
What separates Christmas Blast from most toy drives is a wish list. Aside from the magical red truck, nearly all gifts are requested. CPS provides a list of names and desired gifts to Summit in September. The church creates cards with names and requests and sets them on a table outside the sanctuary. Approximately 800 church members purchase gifts. Others donate money, which a team of staff and volunteers uses to buy the remaining items.
Since 2008, Summit Church has provided more than 15,000 gifts to children from CPS, most of whom live in temporary homes with foster parents. “I cannot put to words how much that this church means to the Department of Family and Protective Services,” Morgan said. “You go out of your way to help all these kids have a wonderful Christmas. To know that somebody loves them and cares about them, regardless of who they are, where they live. … It is just amazing.”
Christmas Blast was born during the Great Recession. In 2008, charitable giving fell nationwide from $326.6 billion to $303.8 billion, the largest decrease since the 1960s. At the same time, CPS needed a new supporter to provide its children with holiday gifts.
“So we decided to step up,” said Rick Godwin, Summit Church founder and senior pastor. “All we wanted to do was to give children a good Christmas. And that’s what we’ve been doing all these years.”
A team of 250 volunteers spends three weeks turning the church into a winter wonderland with a giant snowman, a snow globe, dozens of trees, thousands of lights and hundreds of wrapped gifts. “Every child gets exactly what they’ve asked for,” Godwin said. “That’s what makes this different. It takes a lot of teamwork to make this dream work.”
The look on young faces tugs at the heart. Many ask, “Do I get to keep this?” Others say, “This is the first Christmas gift I ever got.” Volunteers are overcome with emotion.
“Jesus said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’” Godwin said. “But until you actually come in and do it, you don’t understand.”
An 11-year-old girl in a red T-shirt took a gift bag from Santa. She looked inside and pulled out one makeup item after another. Next, she reached in and took a bottle of body spray. The girl stood in silent awe, her foster parents snapping photos, and wiped away a tear.
Christmas came early for more than 1,400 children on Saturday. Some leaped onto Santa’s lap. Some shed a tear. Others, like two brothers, 9 and 11 years old, pedaled new bicycles out the church doors, into the parking lot, celebrating a gift they’ll never forget.
