Holiday Wishes Through The Years

By Heather Jewell, Rainbow Room Coordinator

As the calendar flips to December, we jump full swing into Holiday Wishes. Since 2004, Partnerships for Children’s Holiday Wishes program has provided Central Texas children who are connected to Child Protective Services with gifts for the holidays. Giving them the excitement and joys that every other child has during the holidays, to receive the gifts that are specific to their wishlist. 

As parents to two young girls, we felt it was important to give our children the opportunity to volunteer and give back to their community from a very young age. Exposing young children to the needs of their community through volunteerism helps foster a sense that they can make a difference even from a young age, and will continue giving back as they grow. 

In 2015, my family walked into Holiday Wishes with a 7 and 5 year old not knowing exactly how we would be helping, but explaining to our girls that they were helping other kids who may not otherwise be getting presents for the holidays. We spent 2 hours wrapping. Those gifts may not have been the prettiest, but every one was wrapped with love. My girls read each card, making sure the gifts matched the wishlist and feeling the excitement for the children who would be getting their new toys. Not only were my kids making a difference, they were having fun while doing it.

Looking back, I had no clue that day would be life changing for me and my family. 

After having such a positive Holiday Wishes experience, my oldest daughter asked to have her 8th birthday party in the Partnerships for Children warehouse. She wanted to share with her friends the happiness and joy that comes from giving back. Her friends brought gifts not for her, but for the Rainbow Room. 

Year after year, Holiday Wishes has become one of our most cherished family holiday traditions. One gift wrapping shift in 2015 grew to a few days of helping the following year, eventually leading to volunteering full time for two weeks straight. My family quickly felt part of the PFC family, looking up to the dedicated staff as role models. 

I have personally witnessed Holiday Wishes grow from serving 4,500 children when we started volunteering to almost 10,000 this year, expanding wishes to more counties. Seeing the Austin community step up to support this growth, granting wishes for youth who may not otherwise receive gifts is inspiring. I always explain it as more than just presents, but these kids are getting the normalcy of returning back to school in January, when their classmates talk about what presents they got for the holidays, these children can join in the excitement instead of being quiet or knowing they didn’t receive gifts. 

A dearest yearly tradition has become sitting down after all the gifts have gone out and sharing our favorite gift memory. One year an 8 year old boy asked for a suit to be presentable when meeting potential forever families. Another was a caseworker who wrote a note so lovingly and full of pride about a teenager who had overcome obstacles that the family who sponsored the child wrote a separate letter thanking the caseworker for their hard work. Last year a teen asked for a lawnmower to start a side business, and his sponsor made sure he got all the lawn care tools needed to succeed. 

Year after year, the PFC staff has made us feel welcome. I feel it has been an honor to spend hours of quality time with my children doing something we all love, watching them give back to others, developing leadership skills and an appreciation for how fortunate they are. The PFC staff played a huge role in giving my children responsibilities and making them feel like they are making a difference. 

This year, I was given the opportunity to become part of an organization that I value and joined the PFC staff as the Rainbow Room Coordinator. Going from volunteer to staff has truly been a magical experience. 

Avery 2018 (age 8)- "You know how the Rainbow Room does Christmas presents. Imagine that kids asked for puppies and there was a puppy room where you would go and pick out a puppy for them...I would spend all my time in that puppy room."