Blessing Bags For Disadvantaged Children and Families - And How Creating Hope Foundation, Inc. Came To Be.
The Christmas Sofia was age 7, she asked us (her parents) if she could ask Santa for three gifts, instead of the usual single gift. This was just three months after she’d chosen to donate her birthday to the local animal shelter, the MCSPCA. So naturally, we were willing to hear her out since she’d surprised us so.
We told her that it all depends on what she asked for, and suggested she ask for them in order of importance to her. So when the time came, she approached the jolly ol’ soul and delicately asked for three things, making sure to tell him first that she was fully aware that it was unusual to do such a thing.
“I would like items to make care packages for the homeless people we see on the streets,” was the first request. Santa looked at her and smiled, and then looked at me and winked.
“Next, I would like a nice vacation for my Mama, because she works so hard all the time,” she said. Santa chuckled, and told her he’d see what he could do about that one, but that Mamas deserve LOTS of vacations.
“And if you can, after that, I would like the Watch Ya’ Mouth game because it looks so silly and fun, please,” she said. This time, it was I who winked at Santa. She hugged him and thanked him and took her candy cane, and bounced away with a huge smile on her face.
In the car, she told me that she really hoped that Santa believed the order of importance because she really meant it.
Well, on Christmas morning, Sofia carefully inspected under the tree and found more than three packages from Santa. She wanted so desperately to open them first, but tradition said she had to mix it up with other gifts. First, she opened a box containing a wooden balsam box, unpainted, but with supplies inside to decorate. The note inside suggested she turn it into a money box to help Mama save for a lovely vacation. Sofia said, “Well, I guess a vacation was too expensive. But we can save money and go together, Mama!”
The next Santa gift she opened was the game. “Yay! This is exactly the one I asked for!” Truth be told, we felt like this year she really deserved so much more, simply because we were still so shocked at how she handled that birthday. It was hard not to spoil the heck out of her, but the truth is, she probably would’ve wished Santa had saved it and just made sure she had those care package supplies.
And of course, the final Santa gift - the final gift of the morning - had a very special note inside from Mrs. Claus to Sofia. We won’t disrespect their privacy, but basically, Mrs. Claus had heard about Sofia’s first wish, and wanted to be sure to help make it happen. Inside the box were supplies to make EIGHT blessing bags. There were hats and scarves, toothpaste and brushes, baby wipes, washcloths and soaps, and even tiny candy bars! The tears of joy on this child’s face left not a dry eye in the house. She was so happy.
Later that evening, Sofia didn’t ask to play her games, or with any of her other gifts. She instead sat quietly on the floor, organizing piles, and packing zipper bags full of the goodies. It was the most focused and careful she’d been about something that we’d ever seen her be. She was sure to make sure each bag had the same items, but would coordinate by color and size. Later, Sofia told me that it was the best present ever, because she turned one wish into eight gifts.
So this year, she told me back in July, that because of the pandemic, she was sad that she wouldn’t be able to have her usual birthday and asked if she could donate it again, but this time, she wanted people to help her make more blessing bags, geared especially toward kids, but also their moms or dads. She didn’t know how it was going to work, but I told her she could absolutely make that decision.
And this, is how Creating Hope Foundation, Inc. was born.
Blessing bags are this year’s (from Sofia’s 8th birthday until the next) initiative, and we will be working toward building and delivering as many of them as possible! Stay tuned for Sofia’s surprise birthday parade (coming up September 13th), where she will begin collecting donations and supplies. Any funding that comes through between now and September 14th, 2021 will be used to create blessing bags!
If you’re interested in helping Sofia reach her goals for this year by donating supplies, you can mail them to:
Creating Hope Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 460
Hagaman, NY 12086
Financial contributions can currently be made by check and mailed to the above address. We are building our online donation processing options as well, and will update the site accordingly once we’ve done that. Please Note: We are in the process of registering for 501c3 status so that your donation could be tax deductible.