I was standing in our basement the other day handing a box of food to a parole officer who was taking the food to one of the families she works with. Now, you might expect that I was thinking about how horrible it is that we have families in our community who worry about where their next meal is coming from, and I was, but the overwhelming feeling I was experiencing was, “I love Christmas!”

We have great needs in our community all year long and there are amazing gifts of generosity that happen every day.

However, at Christmas we get to see the generous spirit that I believe inhabits every one of us humans overflow. This season shows me what is possible, what we as individuals and particularly as a community are capable of. 

I am feeling deep gratitude to all those people who are inspiring me and encouraging us this Christmas at the Matthews House. Here are a few…

• Colorado Carriage and Wagon gave 15 of our girls an evening carriage ride, probably not an experience they would ever have had.
• Whole Foods Market, through the generosity of thousands of their customers donated $4,000 of food to the Matthews House, so much that we have been able to not only meet the needs of our youth, but share with other agencies and families we are connected to.
• The Shepherd of the Hills Quilting Group delivered 7 beautiful handmade few full-size quilts that we’ve passed on to youth in our program. They LOVE them!
• A book club that made food and hung out with the youth at our Christmas Party.
• Several volunteers who decided we needed holiday decorations in every room and then handmade and hung them.
• Crossroads Church who held a toy drive and provided toys for several of our youth who have little ones of their own.
• Dozens of people who provided gift cards so our youth could all receive a Christmas present, and
• Burn Longboards, a local company who put on an entire evening event to benefit the Matthews House.

This just scratches the surface of all the people and things we are thankful for this Christmas season. Yes, there are always more needs, more heartbreaking stories, but there are also incredible stories of hope and generosity – and that is what this season is about.

We are so encouraged by the compassion and support of our community.

THANK YOU ALL!!!