Like so many Americans, Elk Grove resident Trish Fontana lost her job and found herself looking for something to occupy her time.
Fontana resolved to do something beneficial for the community with her newly acquired free time. She began volunteering around Elk Grove. Fontana told me the kindness she found in the community made her proud to call Elk Grove her home. Here is an article she wrote about her experiences. I thought it was really touching.
Charity Does Begin at Home
“So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over,
A new one just begun.”
- John Lennon
Christmas has come and 2010 looms just around the corner – and what have you done?
Due to the economy, I am currently not working and, like many others, have recently joined the ranks of the unemployed. Not spending every waking moment consumed by the next deadline, the next file, the next e-mail and a buzzing Blackberry actually frightened me almost as much as not having a job.
I tried to stay busy- sports, errands, chores, but I was still unhappy.
One day I even went to Sloughhouse Farmers Market and filled the car up with corn which I delivered to my neighbors (I truly thought I had lost my mind). Then, when I was at the gym, I saw Michael J. Fox featured on a magazine with a headline that said, “Happiness is a Choice.”
What would replace a job, that could make me happy, that would make me feel fulfilled? Then it came to me. This is Christmas, and what is Christmas all about? It was time for my boo hoo pity party to end.
I have always done community service but where did one sign up to be a full time volunteer? I decided to check out some local organizations. I thought I’d do an onsite visit and shop for the best fit- I didn’t need to go far.
I purged my closets and ended up at the Elk Grove Clothes Closet. Hey, I could walk in, donate a few bags of clothes and if I didn’t like it, what did I have to lose? I had no idea what was to come.
The Clothes Closet is powered by some of the most amazing women (and a few good men) I have ever met. I was immediately hooked. The words of Margaret Mead came to me, "never doubt that a small group of concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
The closet provides clothes to deserving Elk Grove residents with the primary focus on school children. Local schools' request, many through the Healthy Start Program, everything from coats to shoes.
The need is absolutely overwhelming. Each donated item is carefully inspected to make sure it is clean and appropriate for distribution. The clothes are hung by size and gender to facilitate and streamline the order process. It is a well-oiled machine fueled by dedication and passion.
During the Christmas season, the closet also supports School Coat Days and a Gift Day. The first thing that happens at Coat Day is the children are checked to see if they need shoes and then are also given a coat, sweatshirt, hat, gloves and scarf.
I will never forget the young girl whose toes were poking through her little shoes. She said she wore a size 5½ but was finally fitted with a size 10½!
With the recent cold spell, it’s not surprising that gloves would be a huge hit. One day I was unloading the boxes and noticed a huge pair of black leather motorcycle gloves that would literally go past a young child’s elbow. I immediately thought, “who could ever want or use those gloves?” Towards the end of the morning, a young fourth grade boy came into the gym in a wheel chair. He didn’t want a coat or shoes but his face lit up when he saw those gloves. He was beaming with pride when he wheeled himself back to class, his hands and arms protected by the gloves.
The Gift Day is sponsored in conjunction with the Elk Grove Food Bank Christmas program. Individuals first go to the Food Bank to pick up the fixings for their Christmas meal and then are sent to the gift site where they are assigned a number of gifts. Each new or gently used item is wrapped with a bow and can range from clothes, to toys, books, bikes, appliances, bedding and household items. Random raffle tickets are given for the larger items and I was assigned to distribute the prizes.
Here, I met a grandfather whose eyes teared up when he saw the child-size bed which would be perfect for his 3 year old grandson. He was beaming when we helped load it in his pick-up truck with a fury stuffed animal added to complete the package.
Faces and more faces streamed into the hall. There is a 10-year-old girl who selected a large stuffed Mickey Mouse with her ticket to give to her little brother. Two homeless women are overcome with emotion at the sleeping bags and blankets that will help keep them and their little dog warm at night. And finally, I met an elderly woman who had lost her home and car but still wanted to provide a Christmas for her grandchildren, just like her grandmother had done for her.
More people have said “God Bless You” to me in the past two weeks than in my entire Catholic education. But what is most amazing, is that no one complains– most are happy and genuinely grateful. For now, my “office” is a double-wide trailer without any electricity and I couldn’t be happier.
“And so this is Christmas,
I hope you have fun,
The near and the dear one
The old and the young……”
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