Have you ever had a day that changes your life forever? December 10th was that day for members of the Jumbled Dreams family who participated in our Christmas Dreams event.
Me and mom began working on Christmas Dreams in October. We knew we wanted to do something special for Christmas for our friends experiencing homelessness but we didn’t know exactly what. Mom wanted to do a special “gift” pack. She thought it would be nice to give them a bag full of tissues, chapstick, gloves, a hat, hot hands, and a scarf. So we began to search out donations for 200 “gift” packs.
Shortly after our project dreams began, we were invited to an anti-bullying camp where we
heard angelic voices of those performing in The Adventures of Timmy Tumbully, the musical. I was so overwhelmed by their energy and spirit that I asked mom if we could maybe make them a part of Christmas Dreams. Mom thought it would be such a sweet “gift” to have the musical cast perform. I was so excited, I asked them right there, that day, and they all said YES! So we began to make plans to include them in our event.
After Thanksgiving, Echos for Hope, the club I began at my high school, sponsored a Winter Drive. We were overwhelmed with love and support from the students, teachers, and administrators! Almost everyone participated in some way. Teachers ordered items from Amazon, students collected gently used clothing, and classes worked together to fund entire toiletry sets. When all was said and done, we had collected over 5,000 items! It was so exciting and heartwarming to see the joy and care from everyone at school.
Members of Jumbled Dreams and Echos for Hope gathered at my house the weekend before the event. Oh goodness, it was a hot mess but such a beautiful blessing. We put together toiletry packs, “gift” packs, organized clothes, blankets, and shoes, and separated out the hot chocolate to be prepared for the night. Parents of Echos for Hope members joined us at the end and loaded their vehicles to help us transport everything to downtown Nashville.
On Monday, December 10th, People Loving Nashville opened up their space to us as they provided a meal and clothes for all of those in need. While enjoying their food, we handed out all of our items to everyone that needed something while smiling and caroling along to the voices of The Adventures of Timmy Tumbully, the musical. Threads of Care, a fellow teen nonprofit, offered helping hands and cups full of warm hot chocolate for everyone. It was a cold night, but not one person complained. In fact, everyone was smiling and laughing and enjoying Christmas Dreams.
Not only did everything go really well, the stories that we heard were heartwarming and life-changing. My friends and their families realized that our friends experiencing homelessness were just like us and they had just hit a bump on the road. You never know who or what you will encounter in your lifetime but we are grateful that we were able to make a few Christmas Dreams come true this year.
-Sydnee
