TCU students help local children through the Spirit of Christmas campaign
By: Lauren Nixon Schieffer School of Journalism
TCU students recently took advantage of an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, Sarah Thompson, vice president of programming for Order of Omega said. Thanks to the generosity of the TCU community, more than 350 local children will experience the thrill of Christmas gifts.
Order of Omega, TCU’s Greek honor society, teamed up with Tarrant County Child Protective Services to sponsor the Spirit of Christmas Campaign, a gift drive for children in foster care. The gift drive is a tradition held in conjunction with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting sponsored by Programming Council, a branch of the Student Government Association.
For seven days before the Christmas Tree Lighting on Nov. 28, Order of Omega members set up tables during lunch-time in the Student Center and Smith Hall, an academic building on campus, to distribute gift request cards.
Part of Thompson’s job as vice president of programming was to direct the campaign this year. She said Order of Omega members passed out 364 gift request cards, far surpassing their goal of 300.
The gift request cards provided information about a child, ranging in ages from infant to teenager, under the supervision of Child Protective Services. The children may be in a traditional foster home, a group home, or even under the care of relatives other than their parents. Information on the card included clothing and shoe sizes, gift wishes and a brief history of the child’s life and why they are currently under the supervision of the agency.
Colby Bosher, a senior history major, said that she participates in the gift drive every year because she likes to make sure that the children have a happy Christmas. She was excited to adopt a child again this year and go shopping to pick out gifts.
“My little boy for this year sounded really cute and wanted Sponge Bob toys, which I thought would be really fun to buy,” Bosher said. “The story of how he ended up in foster care is what really caught my eye.”
The child that Bosher adopted this year is four years old. He is under the supervision of Child Protective Services because his mother has a medical condition and cannot take care of him.
Thompson said students who picked up cards were instructed to bring their gifts to the Christmas Tree Lighting Nov. 28 and place them under the tree. After the lighting ceremony, the gifts were moved onto a truck provided by Child Protective Services. Students formed a line stretching from the tree to the truck and passed the gifts, one-by-one, down the line. When all the gifts had been loaded, the truck took them away to be sorted.
Lisa Hill, community coordinator for Child Protective Services, said that the agency works out of six different locations in Tarrant County. The gift request cards came in six different shapes that correspond to those locations. After the toys are collected from TCU and other local businesses, they are separated into the six groups and then separated again by caseworker.
After individual caseworkers receive their gifts, they group them by families and make arrangements to deliver them to the homes when the children aren’t there. That way, the children are not aware that there are presents until they open them on Christmas morning.
Thompson thinks it is important for TCU to participate in the gift drive every year.
“It brings out the Christmas spirit in so many ways,” Thompson said. “Having the gifts at the Christmas Tree Lighting makes the entire event very special and meaningful.”
Hill also recognizes the significance of TCU participating in the campaign each year. She said that TCU students provide children hope for an education and the chance to know that there is a college student who cares about them.
“This may be their only contact with higher education,” Hill added.
College students are also more helpful than they realize because of their ability to interpret the gift wishes of teenagers. Hill said that TCU students tend to be more in touch with new electronics and other popular Christmas gifts than she and many of her colleagues.
Hill also said that she and other staff in her office are always impressed by the participation of TCU students and the way that they “put their hearts into it.” “It’s really special that students who aren’t from Tarrant County, but are actually from out of town, step in and support the local community,” Hill said. “It’s so exciting for us that college kids care so much about our kids. I don’t know how to describe it. We get goose bumps.”
TCU students recently took advantage of an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others, Sarah Thompson, vice president of programming for Order of Omega said. Thanks to the generosity of the TCU community, more than 350 local children will experience the thrill of Christmas gifts.