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December 3, 2024“We can never have too many Legos!”
For the past 22 years, as autumn turns to winter, the conference room at the Catholic Charities in Enid is taken over by heaping piles of clothes and toys, including countless boxes of Legos. Eighty kids in the Enid area will be the recipients of those items. Those kids would go without the joy of presents this Christmas if not for Stacy Kurtz, Laura Maixner and their program: A Very Giving Christmas.
“There’s something very special about helping these kids,” said Kurtz said, who serves as the director of the regional Catholic Charities office in Enid and started A Very Giving Christmas more than two decades ago.
“This program spreads hope and joy each Christmas season by ensuring that kids, who otherwise wouldn’t get gifts, have a very Merry Christmas,” she said.
Recipients are chosen through an application process that opens each year in October. Parents are asked to include clothes sizes and a gift list for each child. There are new, trendy gifts on the lists each year, as well as many gifts, like Legos, that have stood the test of time.
“We look forward to this program all year,” Kurtz said.
And when the calendar turns to January, they begin shopping all over again. Kurtz and Maixner stock up on those gifts that are wished for year after year. As for what the new, trendy wish list items will be, it’s anyone’s guess.
“The last few weeks before Christmas are a sprint to ensure the wishes of all 80 kids are fulfilled,” Kurtz said.
In addition to clothes and gifts, each family receives a gift card for groceries. This Christmas, those 80 kids will not only have presents under their trees, they’ll also have pantries stocked.
An aspect of the program that brings Kurtz a great amount of joy is the opportunity parents have to “pay it forward,” ideally contributing with their time.
“There’s a dignity to this program that I really love,” Kurtz shared. “For each child that receives gifts, parents are encouraged to give back, to volunteer an hour to a local charity.”
According to Kurtz, there are many examples of parents who, after serving their one hour, return again and again to volunteer more of their time. The gratitude they feel inspires them to continue serving, to pass along their joy to others. Organizations like the Salvation Army and Our Daily Bread always welcome the extra volunteers.
Catholic Charities in Oklahoma City conducts a similar program each year, coincidentally also named A Very Giving Christmas. More than 70 young people in the metro area receive gifts each Christmas, many of them are the children of women active at the Oklahoma City and Norman Sanctuary Women’s Development Centers. The two Sanctuary Centers serve homeless and at-risk women and children.
Similar to the Enid program, it’s not just the kids that receive gifts each Christmas. The women who receive support at the Oklahoma City Sanctuary are treated to lunch at Cattleman’s Steakhouse. The meal is generously sponsored by the parishioners of Christ the King Catholic Church. In addition to a delicious meal, the women walk away with gifts of their own, also provided by the parishioners of Christ the King.
In Norman, the women are treated to a meal at Saint Joseph Catholic Church. Parishioners cook a traditional Christmas meal, serving it to the women in the church gym. Decorated in the spirit of the season, and with Christmas music playing throughout, the setting to provides an uplifting experience to the many women who attend.
“The Christmas season can be difficult for these families,” said Teresa Flannery, the senior director of social services at Catholic Charities who heads up the efforts each year. “Each of them has a unique set of challenges and difficulties in their lives.
“This program is a light in their lives.”
Christopher Aderhold is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
For 22 years Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City has hosted “A Very Giving Christmas” in Enid. Photos provided.
