January 6th, 2008

On Tuesday, January 1st we published our annual "holiday wrap-up" e-letter in which we shared stories of the holiday benevolences and other matters of interest to Masonic Angel Fund volunteers and patrons.

Saturday morning we received a packet from one of the foster care agencies with which we have partnered for several years. This year a number of children in the custody of this agency received holiday gifts made possible by a combination of the Boston First Fund, the St. Andrew Fund and several of our affiliate Masonic Angel Funds throughout Massachusetts. After the holiday rush has ended the caseworkers at the agency gather up their receipts and send them in to the Foundation for our records.

The agency is called the Northeast Center for Youth and Families. They provide foster homes and ongoing services to high-risk youth, many placed with NCYF through the Department of Youth Service, Department of Social Services or the Department of Mental Health. This year they requested an average of $100 per child to provide holiday gifts, most of which consisted of clothing and outerwear with a few toys for the younger children.

This year's packet was accompanied by a very moving letter from the case manager who organized this year's holiday program for the agency. We have placed the contents of the letter below for everyone's enjoyment. The letter was sent to the Foundation office but it is really meant for everyone in the MAF community.

I'm not even sure where to begin. Every year you manage to amaze me even more. When the Christmas season is approaching and it's time to start thinking about how we are going to provide a great Christmas for our kids, I always get nervous about whether or not we will be able to pull it off. And I always hesitate when asking for the donations that we want because I feel like it's too much money to expect you to give us. Then I gather some courage and I make the request and the response comes almost immediately followed by the checks within days and I literally sit here stunned that you are so willing and able to help us out. I don't feel as though there is an adequate way to say thank you.

This year I was able to get my kids just about everything they wanted. Many of them wrote out a Christmas list and I was able to fulfill their requests. That was the greatest feeling in the world. The only thing that could have added to it would have been to witness them opening their gifts on Christmas morning! It is such an overwhelming feeling to know that we can provide a pleasant Christmas for some kids who have never really had a real Christmas. It is because of your generosity that we are able to do that and again I say thank you.

I have enclosed all the receipts from the money that came through you. Again I say thank you so much for your generosity and willingness to help us out. It is so nice to know that we have our own real life Santa Claus just an email or phone call away.