All I Want For Christmas

In what may have seemed like a trip down memory lane, Y-USA Northeast Region Resource Directors gathered this week to reminisce about Christmases-past. Oh! But these were no idle reminisences. There was purpose to these fond recollections.

Under the guidance of YMCA Resource Director Lisa Drouin (MA), the Y-USA professionals were asked to think about their favorite Christmas present, or the one gift they always longed for as a child, but never received. Ahh! But now the fun! The Resource Directors were asked to each purchase that gift, to be presented to children of families experiencing financial hardship.

YMCA Resource Director Barb Schweitzer (NY) shared that she always loved her Barbie dolls, so she purchased a brand new Barbie Doll for this Christmas (see picture on this blog). By the end of the gift sharing, Santa's sack was filled with table games, baseball gloves, John Deere tractors, Matchbox car sets, toy boats, slot-car race sets, Lincoln Logs, and a host of other toys and games popular with children of all ages.

The toys will now be delivered to the Plainfield Area YMCA (www.plainfieldy.org ) to brighten the holidays of girls and boys served by this YMCA.

The Northeast Region Service Delivery team has organized similar childrens' toy parties for four consecutive years. The group establishes a theme for the collection each year. One year the Resource Directors were asked to select a toy which represents their Heroes. Another year they were to select a child's gift representative of the interests or personalities of one of their YMCA Resource Director colleagues.