"If you want to do something that will make a difference in people's lives and in your own life then this is the program for you. I find the more I give the more I get back."

Program Volunteer

"When you get the list of people in the family you are sponsoring and you go out and shop for them you get so invested in that family. You have your imagination about what the family is like and the joy that they are going to feel in receiving these items. It is just very imamate. You really feel like you carry this family around with you for how ever many weeks you are working on obtaining their items."

Program Director

"I think it is a unique program because it teaches children to think about another child. Not an imaginary child, but a real child with a name, an age, an address and a wish. And while we can't make the sick child well, we can do something."

Program Sponsor

"For the patients, this program brightens their day. It is tough to be sick and even tougher to be in the hospital all of the time. It makes them smile, not just because they are getting gifts for the holiday, but because they know that their family will be taken care of too."

Volunteer/Sponsor

"One year when my daughters delivered gifts to a family, the father had an injured leg and was on a make shift crutch, and I believe the child in this case was dying. As my girls were leaving he stopped them he said "just one minute". He took a tablespoon and went to his backyard and dug up a rose bush and put it in a coffee can for them to take as a gift. We planted that rose bush in our front walk and we pass it everyday. It is a reminder to me of human goodness."

Program Sponsor

"I think that this program helps families tremendously. When you are in the hospital it costs a lot of money. Not just for the hospital bills, but feeding your family, and transportation, and loss of work. When you have a child that is sick it is hard to ask for things. It is great to know that people care and that they will reach out to help."

Program Sponsor

"The Holiday from the Heart program is an unbelievable demonstration of the generosity and caring nature of people."

Program Volunteer