On December 23, 2010, Valerie and her brother drove over an hour to get to The Wish Shop to pick up some toys for her 5 children for Christmas.
She walked in carrying her 8-month old in a car seat.
"Thank you so much" was the first thing she said.
Her baby, Navaeh (Heaven spelt backwards) was beautiful, smiling and all bundled up. Her brother sat down with the baby and I explained the wait.
"I'm so sorry but I have to wait for someone else to get to the shop so I can run out for your Gift Card." I told them. I honestly had no idea how long it might be before a volunteer came in.
But Valerie and her brother were gracious. We talked, they waiting patiently as other clients came in and picked up their wishes and they shared stories about their family. Valerie was pregnant with her fifth biological child and had kinship legal guardianship of a family member's 16 year old daughter.
She worked at a local laundry mat and did her best to make ends meet for her family. She called One Simple Wish "a blessing."
She waited over 4 hours that afternoon but we were able to get her coats for the kids, a toy for each and even an artificial tree and some decorations.
Later that evening I got an email from her that simply said, "We thank you very much for all you have done for us this Christmas and thank you for the tree. The kids were so happy. Thanks again for blessing us."
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