The Spirit of Christmas

At Stamford, each grade level partners with a local charity as a way of giving back to the community. We call them action service projects. This year our grade level worked really hard to find a local charity that we felt a particular pull to. Also, we just wanted one to return our emails. Singaporeans are not known for their communication skills! I took the lead of this project this year and was thrilled when we chose to partner with the Ronald McDonald House Charity, which is located inside National University Hospital here. They have been so welcoming and enjoyable to work with - truly appreciative of our efforts.

In order to be 'part' of the process, students made holiday greeting cards and sold them for $1 each. We then took the money raised and shopped 'til we dropped (with the help of a wonderful mom!). After an assembly line of students gathered after school one day, we managed to pack 200 holiday goody bags filled with treats, juice, toys and art supplies.

On Tuesday this week, myself, Lucinda, a few moms and 9 dedicated Grade 3 students visited the hospital to spread some holiday cheer. Over the last 4 weeks, these 9 students gave up recess time to learn & practice Christmas carols that they could sing in each ward, while Lucinda and I passed out the goody bags. Due to the illnesses these children have, we could only take a small number of children out of concern for the patients' safety.

When Lucinda and I walked into our first ward, we were definitely not prepared for the emotion that overcame us. As we approached the first bed, we saw a teeny tiny little baby body hooked up to a host of machines in a very large bed. Both of us moved along quickly, trying to fight back the tears. It was hard, as you would expect. There is nothing easy about seeing children, of any age, hooked up to machines and so helpless. That said, the families were so kind and the nurses loved the cheer spread throughout their halls. It was quite a moment to see our kids, hospitalized kids, their parents and nurses come together in the hallway to sing,'We Wish you a Merry Christmas'. Grateful and blessed...we couldn't help but feel it as tears welled up in our eyes.

The Ronald McDonald House Charity is doing good work. They have a lovely living room, dining room and 4 bedrooms for families to stay in while their child is in the hospital. It's a tough process to decide which families get to stay, but the executive director works tirelessly to make sure families feel supported and cared for during their most difficult times.

We look forward to more visits there in the Spring and spreading cheer throughout the year. These folks are everyday heroes in my mind and those sweet kids are fighting hard to get well. It's the least we can do.