3:50:00 AM EST
Our Christmas season begins with food drives. Our first comes from Stagg High School in Palos. The next from St. Rita High of Cascia School in Chicago. Last year after our other food drives came in, that's Paul Revere Primary and Intermediate, Kerr, Veteran's Memorial and Nathal Hale Middle, and Eisenhower High School, the Stagg High School National Honor Society joined us to separate food and to help us with organizational needs. Other schools and organizations will volunteer their people as well.
Our drives take in more than just food. We ask for items like toys, gloves, mittens and hats, toilet paper and even laundry detergent. Think about it. If the normal family needs it in order to operate on a day to day basis, we'll probably ask for it.
We ask for Christmas presents. Families, companies and civic groups wanting to join our ranks can adopt families. They are expected to provide Christmas dinner as well as gifts.
Delivery day is the biggest day of our Christmas season. We gather early to share a cup of coffee, a donut, and to prepare for the day. The trucks are loaded, and the warehouse is nearly emptied. And when we're done with that, we thank God for the opportunity to do the work we do.
We'll pile into our cars then, and we take off, usually with a police escort provided by the Blue Island Police Department. We cover as much of our areas as we can on this one particular day. Many times we surprise our clients as someone else recommended them to us. We'll bring gifts, food, clothing and even a Christmas tree and decorations if needed.
And when it's all over, we collapse.
