My favorite day of the year is Christmas. The joy everyone shares during the holidays is unmatched. I love gifting and receiving presents, watching the snow, seeing family, and eating delicious food.
But there are so many people that don’t share my love for the holidays. To them, Christmas is a reminder of what they don’t have. They may not have a home, money for presents, a family to spend the season with, or even food on their table on the big day.
The best part about the holidays is that it gives people hope. It inspires others to be kind and selfless. That may not seem like much to most of us who have those things, but for the people who don’t, it means everything. This is why I love to give back and serve people who may not have or get their Christmas wish. My favorite thing to do during the holidays is to give hope to others and inspire the light in others that I feel every year at Christmas.
Until COVID happened in 2020, my family would volunteer at West House every year at Christmas time. West House is a personal care home and shelter for people in the community of Williamsport who may need assistance but are unable to afford it at a traditional personal care home. It started by strictly providing care to patients with HIV and AIDS but soon opened their doors to anyone in need. The best part about this place was that anyone could come there at any time for help. The home provided shelter, meals, supervision, and assistance for residents. Regardless of their ability to pay, or their condition, this house would take them in.
My family would visit this house every year and spend the day with the residents. We would help decorate, bake cookies, decorate ornaments, give gifts, and serve meals to the people who lived there and anyone else who stopped by for shelter. Going to this house always made me feel so fortunate for everything I have. I have an amazing family, friends, great health, and somewhere to spend the greatest time of the year. It always felt so amazing helping people who don’t have the wonderful things I do. I loved giving people a reason to smile for the day. They were always so happy to see us, and I loved spending the day with them.
Since COVID, West House struggled financially to provide care for the people who resided there. Because of this, the house ended up having to close and the residents had to relocate. Although the house no longer exists, I could never forget the joy it brought those people; people who otherwise wouldn’t look forward to the holidays. While I have found other ways to help others during the holidays since the West House closed, nothing compares to the time I spent at West House. I loved spending the day with them and spreading a little bit of the hope and joy I feel at this time of year.
Sometimes the best gift you can give to someone during this time is hope. Someone who may not have everything that is normal to some people over the holidays may need to know it will get better for them and there is someone out there who cares about them. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest finding a place where you can put a smile on this person’s face this holiday. You will be so surprised that it is the best gift you could ever give.