Korrol Eddingfield could barely contain her excitement for a special delivery. For Christmas, she and fellow local resident Laura Burton had adopted a 24-year-old single mom, and had spent weeks collecting items to donate for the woman, who is expecting her first child in February.
On Monday, Eddingfield and her husband brought the items to the woman’s apartment, carrying the heavy items up the flights of stairs to fill the mom’s living room.
“Oh wow,” the soon-to-be mother kept exclaiming softly, as she pulled out one item after another, including a crib, a swing, a high chair, a bassinet, baby clothes, an aquarium, a bath tub with baby bath items, a microwave, a baby mat, toys, books and much, much more.
Each item had a story, a giver, a person who wanted to reach out when Eddingfield had told people on Facebook what she was doing. Eddingfield had posted on Facebook that the young mom needed household items, such as a toaster, dishes and other goods.
“One woman felt bad she didn’t have any of those items. She went out and got that coffee machine,” Eddingfield said, as the young mom just shook her head in amazement.
Eddingfield said in all, about 35 or even more people donated to the family.
“I couldn’t believe how many people donated in the town. It was unbelievable,” she said, noting that every day, she would get another message about items to deliver or pickup. “This town is absolutely amazing, we couldn’t have done it without them.”
The response from the young mom was gratifying, to say the least. “She was so grateful - I ended up crying,” said Eddingfield. “That’s part of Christmas, more giving than receiving.”
“I’ll do this every year, this is absolutely amazing.”
Eight families in need ended up being adopted through the Parent Link Centre this year, said programmer Sheila Parks. Parent Link has a reputation for being able to connect families with those that need help, as Parks explains, “I work with families that are struggling.”
But Parks was amazed by the spirit of generosity that people had shown this year, with people giving those in need gifts, furniture, food and money – one had even paid rent for another family for a month.
“Our community is just such a giving community, but especially at this time of year. It’s just incredible,” said Parks.
She noted there were many people that expressed interest in adopting a family, and said that if those people were interested, they were welcome to give her a call at 780-645-5311 to set up an adoption for next year.
Cheryl (not her real name) was one of the people helped through the program and she explained just what the support had meant to her.
She had recently left her abusive husband and moved with her two kids to St. Paul, where she stayed at the local women’s shelter.
The shelter staff gave her lots of information and help getting her on her feet, and through community support, she was able to access low-income housing and find an apartment of her own. She came to know of the Parent Link, a place where her children could enjoy themselves and play, free from the stress and fear caused by all the changes in their lives.
When Cheryl needed help with diapers for her youngest, she went to Parks, and got not only diapers, but gas cards as well.
“She felt I needed some, which was really great, because at the time, my ex hadn’t paid child support, so I really needed the help,” said Cheryl.
Over time, and through the support of her family and church, Cheryl went from having nothing to having an apartment full of furniture donated to her, and a feeling she was getting on her feet.
When Christmas time came, Parks signed Cheryl up for the Knights of Columbus Christmas food hampers and connected her to a family that adopted her for Christmas. The family chose to remain anonymous, with Cheryl only knowing the first name of one member as “Michelle.”
“I couldn’t believe the generosity from whomever Michelle is,” said Cheryl with disbelief. She had thought the children might each get a gift or two.
“There were half a dozen for the kids each and even some for me,” she exclaimed. “It brought tears to my eyes. It’s good to see the generosity there in the world and in a small town like St. Paul.”
For Cheryl, her hope in leaving her ex and studying at Portage College is to get a job and support her family, and raise them to be the same sort of people as the people who have helped her.
“Them being happy is more important to me,” she said. “Michelle’s family, the Parent Link, the Knights of Columbus – they’ve all made it possible for my kids to have a really merry Christmas, even without the presents. They’re showing the real meaning of Christmas.”
