Desmon Hernandez, 14, believes the true heart of Christmas lies in giving instead of receiving.
The Gilroy High School freshman woke up one month ago and asked his parents if they could give his Christmas presents to foster children this year.
The idea spun into a project that had the teenager going door to door more than 80 times over the span of a few weeks to collect at least $800 in donations, so that he could buy the first and second choice Christmas presents on the wish lists of 15 children at Rebekah Children’s Services in Gilroy, which serves local youth including foster children and others receiving mental health care services.
“I come from a pretty blessed family and I wanted to bless someone else this Christmas,” said Desmon as he headed out Dec. 16 to deliver the presents.
Desmon is not entirely sure what inspired the idea, but recalls he was thinking about Christmas and his train of thoughts led him to ponder the less fortunate, which led him to think about children without parents.
“It was kind a shock to me,” said his father, Art Hernandez, who was surprised by his son’s request. “It’s not every day you hear a 14-year-old say that.”
Desmon proved he was serious about the idea when he asked his dad to call Rebekah Children’s Services to help carry out the gesture. Art suggested they stop by the organization’s local office on IOOF Avenue. In that meeting, Desmon learned the foster children had wish lists, 15 of which were selected by Rebekah staff and handed over to the Hernandez family.
After the meeting, Desmon went door to door that same day, asking if neighbors would donate money to help grant the children’s wishes.
“The first day was pretty bad,” Art acknowledged.
Several neighbors – sure that Desmon was out to keep the money for himself – slammed doors in his face.
The following day, Art accompanied his son to add some validity to his mission.
“I don’t think it was people with bad hearts. I think people were skeptical,” said Art. “I had a few people say, ‘is this is this for real?’”
Desmon dutifully noted the address of each donor and what they gave, so he could send them a photo of the toys and a thank you card before Christmas.
“He was pretty organized doing it,” said Art, who was impressed by his son’s idea to keep records of the donors and their donations.
The children, who range from infant to 18, asked for a variety of things, including simple gifts such as a baseball hat and glove, and more expensive ones, like a brand new bicycle and helmet, which cost about $100, Art said. Luckily, the costs of the wishes evened out and Desmon was able to fulfill the hopes of all the children on his list – even down to the exact color of the requested item.
Melissa Linden, director of Admission and Marketing for Rebekah, has been coordinating the organization’s holiday toy drive and was impressed by the teenager’s work to bring in gifts. At the beginning of December, Rebekah was short nearly 500 of the 1,000 presents staff was hoping to give out, Linden explained.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said Dec. 20 as she was arranging the gift deliveries. “(The effort) just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
When Rebekah posted about Desmon’s efforts on Facebook, even more presents came in, as people inspired by the gesture began calling in to ask how they could help.
“He is just one of those kids that once he puts his mind to it, he does it,” said Art. “I was very proud of him.”
Desmon is not sure if he will do this particular project again, but hopes he can continue to work with Rebekah to continue donating gifts – perhaps for upcoming birthdays, he said.
“He has a big heart,” said Art, ever the proud dad.
