On Friday the 19th at 2:50 p.m. as the bell rang for school to
be over, everyone rushed out of their classrooms so excited to go
and enjoy their winter vacation. Most were looking forward to
presents and lots of good home-cooked food. Some, I hope, were
excited to help someone less fortunate during the holidays.
On Friday the 19th at 2:50 p.m. as the bell rang for school to be over, everyone rushed out of their classrooms so excited to go and enjoy their winter vacation. Most were looking forward to presents and lots of good home-cooked food. Some, I hope, were excited to help someone less fortunate during the holidays.
I love to help people out when I can. This vacation I got a chance to do that through my dad’s work. My dad is a police officer in San Jose. Every year they deliver presents and a box of food to families who are reportedly in need.
The program gets the addresses of the families from the police officers patrolling in early December. When officers go out on calls and see a family that could use some help they note the address and the kids’ ages.
I have participated in this program before many years ago and enjoyed it a lot, so this year my whole family went to help. We arrived in San Jose at 6:30 a.m. and helped pack the boxes of food. Then, all the police officers loaded their patrol cars for deliveries.
My brothers and I rode in the back of my dad’s police car while my mom drove her van behind us so we could carry more boxes.
I will never forget how grateful all the families were. They were very surprised and couldn’t believe all of presents and food were for them.
There was one family I will never forget. When we were delivering to a neighbor, a women came out of her apartment and asked my dad who was in his uniform, “Officer are you handing out presents?” My dad said that we were, but the families were selected ahead of time, but that we thought they had extras and we would check. We happened to have an extra box of food with us so I carried that to her apartment for her. I saw her three young kids all under 10. They were so cute. She explained to me about how they were just having a hard year and they would have a very small Christmas.
When we went back to check they had run out of any extra toys. While we were driving to make another delivery, we went passed a Target, and my mom suggested we go in to get some things for the family.
When we returned, the kids were very excited, and I could tell the mom was very grateful but almost holding back her excitement because of her pride or embarrassment that she was asking for this kind of help. She was so happy for what we did for her and her kids.
Although I am a firm believer that people are more appreciative for things they have worked for and should not live off of the government or other people’s hard-earned money, I do believe in helping people get back on their own two feet. This little act of holiday kindness made me feel good, and I believe it helped the people who received the food and gifts.
But it made me think that there are needy families at all times of the year so why do people give the most help during the holidays? I think it is because society has made this time of year seem more special. It seems to give people a different outlook on life.
People are more giving and forgiving in many ways this time of year. The world would be a better place if people could hold on to this holiday spirit all year long. It just may be too much to ask for people to be giving more than a couple of weeks a year.
Stephanie Smith is a Gilroy High School senior. She will be writing this year on student-related topics. You can reach her at te****@*****il.com.
