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A homebound guest who when I called and asked "what can we bring you" he said "I'd love some candy and some
donuts". As you know, we always have lots of candy and donuts that are generously donated. I made sure and
told the homebound team that visited him to please make sure he got the bags of candy and lots of donuts we sent
him. This was two years ago. Last year he remembered we had taken notice and sent him the things he really
wanted. Because of CFE's generosity we made his Christmas Day!

A single Mom called and was staying at the Battered Women's shelter and wanted to sign up for a ride to CFE
along with some other Mom's there. I got her and her group signed up and our driver's (god bless them) picked
her group up with their kids. When I spoke to this Mom, she was so thankful for what we were doing and was
grateful for the opportunity. This particular Mom had something in her voice, compassion, understanding and a
positive attitude, despite her circumstances. I knew I had to meet her. Come Christmas Day, I knew her name, but
had no idea what she looked like. All day long, every young woman I passed, I looked at wondering if that was her.
Then, as I walked into the gym for something, I saw standing in line this pretty young woman with a young boy, our
eyes met and she said "Wendy"! and so, I got to met her and her son. She took my hand and thanked me for CFE.
At that moment, I felt the hand of God on my shoulder. I hugged her and wished her a Merry Christmas! An angel
sent down to let all of us know that what we do is a blessing.

God Bless you and CFE for all that you do to make others feel loved!

-Wendy

What stands out in my mind is the way some of our volunteers give their time unconditionally with a smile on their
face and a song in their hearts.   I love meeting up with some of those who return year after year to help and I
always look forward to meeting new helpers.

Last year earned recognition for keeping us focused on faith.   The Lord gave us some time to see what it might
look like without much to share, then he opened the flood doors and we were in abundance.   God does have a
sense of humor.

Another thought was the homeless dude that came through the line asking only for some clean towels and a
wash cloth so he could wash up.   I gave him the towels he asked for in addition to a new blanket, socks and
sundries.   I was reminded once again of what and why we do what we do.   God bless him and always keep him
clean.

Last, but not least, we must remember that this is God's story and his will.    We are blessed by serving him.

FROM KATHRYN

Stories From our Committee

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If you are a committee Member or a guest who has been blessed with a story about
Christmas for Everyone and would like to share it ... email us your story to MY STORY.

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We are a local family and knowing that many in our community go without, we decided to take the 1/3 less
challenge this year. We are taking a 1/3 of our belongings (clothes, books, toys, kitchen items) and would like to
share them with friends in our community who have less than us. We hope this will help make Christmas and
2010 easier. We also have a $$ donation that our family all contributed to that we would like to share.
We heard about your organization thru our church, St. Matthew and we would love to donate.

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Karen West (husband, Chuck) gathered a very large quantity of clothing, bedding, games and baby stuff to
donate to CHRISTMAS FOR EVERYONE'S program. These items were cleaned (or new), folded, sorted, and
bagged for easy display. Karen was struck with pneumonia on December 7th and has been in John Muir Hospital
in critical & now serious condition. When she woke and was able to speak, she was most concerned that the
items that she gathered from friends and family and elsewhere, had made it to your donation center in time. HER
NEIGHBOR CRAIG HOWARD delivered TO US

FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE SHE WAS STILL CONCERNED FOR OTHERS

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Merry Christmas Season...

I just had my annual Christmas party and we selected to ask the guest to bring gifts in support of your
organization this year. Soooo I have a box full of toys etc

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My name is Sarita and I just heard on the news about the sad robbery that took place at the charity’s
warehouse.

I will help by sponsoring a charity party at my house. I will ask my guests to bring blankets, jackets, and gifts for
teenagers. I will also ask my guests to provide any entertainment or time to donate to Christmas for Everyone
on Christmas day. I am available to volunteer my time on Christmas day to help with rides (I have drivers’
license), answering phones, decorating, and/or whatever else is needed.

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My story is different. It's
kind of a funny little one that shows how even best laid plans can go
awry:

I worked in the dining room my first year with CFE. That first year
was fun because I got to hand out pies with whipped cream on top and
saw wonderful smiles on the little kid's faces. A real Norman
Rockwell sort of experience.

The next year I was assigned over in the "Grandma's Baby-sitting
Corner". This second year was a different experience. Totally
different! Norman Rockwell was no where in the building! We'd set up
the baby-sitting area using boxes to define our space. We used large
sized moving boxes filled with bedspreads and blankets and closed on
the top. These made up the "wall" along which people lined up to wait
to check their bags of clothing and then go into the dining room. We
would come back to those boxes later to refill the tables where we had
blankets out for people to choose from. The back wall was a tarp
separating us from the checked bags, and the last two walls were made
up of smaller boxes stacked up ~ not too high ~ one on top of the
other filled with clothing (also to be used to fill up tables that were
getting all picked over). We had toys in our area, a colorful rug, and
rocking chairs to make the little spot look inviting.

As the doors opened, we had a number of little toddlers and babies
that we watched while the mommies' looked through the used clothing
and made their choices. Most of the little ones were happy to be in
there playing for the brief 10 or 15 minutes they were left there.
This was a nice "contented" time for those of us working in this space.
Then something happened. First thing to happen was a curious woman
opened one of our large boxes that we were using as a wall and she
discovered quilts and blankets! Before you could say "Peter Rabbit"
she was emptying all of the quilts and putting them into her shopping
bags (black lawn bags) and yelling to her friends, daughters, etc. to
do the same! Pandemonium reigned! Not only were our "extra" (held
back for people who would be coming through later) warm blankets and
comforters disappearing at an astonishing rate, but so were our walls
and our little children that we were looking after! What a mess! To
add to the confusion no one spoke the native language of the assertive
shoppers to explain to them why we needed to keep some back for later
and why we needed our walls to stay where we'd put them! Once the
boxes were empty even a 9 month old could move them! So much for
planning!

Once that mini-crisis had been settled, it came to our attention
before long that we had an extra baby!   The clothing shop was closed
every 15 minutes or so and the people in it came over to claim their
children and then they all went on to check their shopping bags and go
eat in the dining room.   And then a new group of people would be let
in for their opportunity to do some selecting. But the baby had been
with us for at least a half an hour, meaning that no one now in the
clothing room was this baby's mommy or daddy.   As time went by we
began to worry about incidentals like clean diapers and bottles, etc.
I don't remember how long the parents were gone, but it seemed like an
eternity! By the time they came to pick up their infant I was a wreck
and decided that passing out pie with whipped cream was infinitely
better that watching a couple of angelic looking little tykes in the
baby-sitting corner!

CUSTOMERS AT BORDERS BOOKS, PLEASANT HILL HAVE DONATED ALL THESE BOOKS FOR NEEDY
CHILDREN. LIONS CLUBS OF THIS AREA ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DISTRIBUTING THEM TO CHILDREN'S
ORGANIZATIONS. WE HOPE YOUR CHILDREN ENJOY THESE BOOKS
SUE LANGHORTS & PAULA ROBINSON
YGNACIO VALLEY COMMUTERS LIONS CLUB

My boss, Ron Bongiovanni, owns Selix Formalwear. We have a Blessed to Bless program where we donate 10% of
what a wedding couple spends with us to any church they choose. If they do not choose one and live within the
vicinity of any of our 12 store locations, we choose a church in the community that they live. Each year during
Christmas, we disburse the uncashed checks from the previous year to Churches/Organizations that feed the
hungry.

Gary Gillard, Director of Wholesale Operations, saw Christmas for Everyone on the tv this morning. We would like
to donate to Christmas for Everyone.

I read in the paper about the robbery of your storage facility.

We do not have much extra this year, as I lost my job and home a year ago and my BF just lost his job yesterday,
but we have a couple of brand new clothing items that I wonder if you could use.

One is a plush robe and slippers (flip flops) in a nice burgundy color (one size fits all) and the other is a red and
navy striped long sleeved shirt, in a size 3T, I believe. If you could use either item, I would be glad to drop them off
somewhere.

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