One of this year’s most poignant Christmas requests came from “Sam,” a mom from Charlestown who made her envelope out of loose leaf paper underscoring her tight budget. Here’s what she wrote:

“I’m a single mother of a 5 year-old daughter who never gets what she wants… she only gets what she needs. This year she begged me for a few things that I know I couldn’t afford to get her. She asked for Baby Wanna Walk by Baby alive, a Doctor mommy doll and a Shockwave scooter.

Sam’s own simple requests appear to the right. We shared her letter with our volunteers and a group of Stonehill students stepped forward to make Christmas possible for this special family. Afterwards, we received not one but two thank you notes! Here’s an excerpt:

“My daughter and I received your gifts of love and I couldn’t contain myself. Your organization has restored a lot of the faith I had lost. My daughter loved all her gifts and couldn’t stop smiling: all she could say was, “This is the best Christmas ever!” then I couldn’t stop smiling in between the tears. I prayed and thanked God for His bountiful blessings that He provided through you. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the things you sent to a well-deserved 5 year old who only gets second hand items but never once complained.