Share some Christmas cheer with your community this year
You too can be the magical ingredient of the holidays for Roxbury families
The finest Christmas tradition in Roxbury was started half a century ago by community leader and teacher Areta Weyl, who noticed that too many of her pupils didn't have enough coats, hats and mittens to keep them warm on the way to school. So she started the Community Christmas Project with some of her friends, and like the Grinch's heart, the project just grew and grew and grew, until now it encompasses a year-round effort embracing our entire town.
Now, who wouldn't want to be a part of that tradition? It takes a humonguous amount of organizing, giving, creativity, and cooking from dozens of Roxbury students, clergy, business owners and ordinary citizens, working in unison each year to ensure that everyone — and especially every child in Roxbury — experiences the magic of the holiday season. (Plus, you'll have another excuse to go shopping in toy stores!) Once the Christmas organizing is done, Community Christmas Project has a "slush" fund to help families and children throughout the year with extraordinary or emergency expenses.
The Community Christmas project's originating genius, Areta Weyl and Betty Underwood (her longtime collaborator and co-organizer), both passed away this year but they left many enduring legacies for their community. Weyl began teaching at the tender age of 19 in a one-room schoolhouse. During her 32 years as a charismatic teacher and administrator, Areta saw and understood the whole child, not just the pupil. She started the Community Christmas Project in the early 1940s to ensure that her schoolchildren had hats, mittens, coats, and spectacles, all very discreetly and without much fanfare.
Rete's and Betty's spirits live on in a dedicated crew of well-organized but largely unsung community members who coordinate a tremendous amount of Christmas cheer and practical aid for area families. And they never toot their own horns: trying to obtain the names of these "elves" feels like an exercise in covert activity. Like most of us, many of them have seen hard times themselves. They know how it feels when you have to choose between getting your daughter the special doll she wants or paying the heating bill.
"Community Christmas Project is so much fun because, when you volunteer to be a shopper and you get those children's ages, you can go right back to that age yourself and share some of the fun that made your own Christmases so special," said one volunteer shopper. "I like to shop for pre-teens and tweens because I can buy some of my favorite classic adventure stories, hoping that my long ago enthusiasm for those stories will be passed down to another 12-year-old. And what could be more fun than Christmas shopping for a three-year-old? Every child should feel special on Christmas morning — that tingly feeling that someone magical sees each one of them and how very unique they are."
"This year, we're going to be reaching out to more than 70 local families and we hope to give Christmas cheer to more than 200 people, many of them children or seniors," said Bonnie Walker, this year's project coordinator. "As always, we want to be sensitive to practical, quality of life issues that go beyond the holiday season and affect families all year long. For example, very often families don't have insurance to cover items like glasses or a special hearing test."
Community members who want to help but can't make a donation themselves will find plenty of opportunities to make a difference by baking a pie, wrapping presents or helping with deliveries. As in past years, any donations left over will become part of a Community Aid Fund to help those in crisis situations or with extraordinary medical or sustenance expenses throughout the year.
To contribute, you can make a donation payable to the Community Christmas Project and send it to Bonnie Walker, 489 Al Pekrul Rd., Roxbury, NY 12474. Anyone wishing to volunteer can also contact Bonnie Walker at 326-4769.
And don't forget, if you take on a Christmas Project family — it's toy shopping for you! It could be the most fun you have all year long.