Holiday Season Brings Magic to Sally's House
The holiday season is right around the corner. And for Sally's House, Christmas-Eve is magical!
Before sharing the magic, though, what is Sally’s House? Sally’s House, which is operated by The Salvation Army Spokane, is the only emergency foster care placement program in Eastern Washington for children, ages 2-12, who have been physically or sexually abused,
abandoned, neglected, or found in a home with criminal activity.
Last Christmas-Eve, the staff set up a playroom with presents for each child. Following dinner, the boys and girls went to the playroom where they were pleasantly surprised to see the nicely wrapped gifts!
Staff informed the children that Santa was starting his rounds and dropped off an early gift for each of them. Every child received a new set of pajamas, a new stuffed animal, and a new blanket; all of which had been donated to Sally’s House by members of the community. Once
everyone had changed into their pajamas, the children and staff sat down to watch a Christmas movie with hot cocoa, popcorn, and a cookie.
Following this time of fun, the boys and girls went to bed and the staff got busy making Christmas morning as magical as possible. When the children awoke the next morning, they were escorted into the dining room where they watched Christmas cartoons and opened their stockings while waiting for a special breakfast made by Majors Ken and Jennifer Perrine and family. These young lives were excited to know that they were going to receive delicious chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns, bacon, fluffy eggs, and milk. After breakfast, the children got dressed for the day because once they opened their presents it would be difficult to get them to do anything except play.
Once they were dressed, magic appeared! The boys and girls were escorted to the playroom where they saw a room fully decked out in Christmas decorations and piles of presents for each child. The children’s joy in that room was unbelievable! The squeals of excitement from the children as they opened their gifts said it all! The staff had almost as much fun as the boys and girls. The rest of the day was spent having staff help the children assemble their new treasures, eating a wonderful Christmas dinner and snacks with Christmas music in the background, and watching Christmas movies before going to bed.
It is truly the most wonderful time of the year for the children and the staff alike. The staff enjoy going above and beyond to ensure that the time these boys and girls are spending away from their own families are as magical as possible!
On one Christmas Day, Sally’s House received a five-year-old girl from law enforcement who was found wondering alone on the streets. Thanks to the generosity of the community, the staff was able to gather the same number of presents for this little girl that had been given to the other children. The gifts were quickly wrapped by staff and then unwrapped by the young girl almost as fast as they had been wrapped. Her shining face was a joy to behold!
Another Christmas comes to mind when the Sally’s House staff received some of the Our Generation dolls and all their accessories that have been so popular with 6–12-year-old girls. On December 26, a nine-year-old girl was brought to Sally’s House. She had been left alone in her apartment for two weeks, and she finally called 911 for herself when she ran out of food. Upon hearing this horrendous story, staff immediately began to prepare presents and other items for her.
Ironically, when she arrived at Sally’s House, this young girl had a Our Generation doll, which hardly left her arms. She told staff that it was the only gift she received for her birthday. She also had no knowledge of children receiving presents on Christmas morning. When she opened her gifts there was accessory after accessory for her doll, new clothes, and a matching apron set for her and her doll with baking props for them to play together. The little girl was so happy she cried, which caused the staff to cry.
Thanks to the kindness of donors in the Spokane region, this is just a sampling of the Christmas magic that occurs each year at Sally’s House. Annually, Sally’s House is a conduit through which God meets not only the needs of these precious little lives, but also grants them the desires of their hearts.
If you believe in how Sally’s House is making a positive difference in young lives, please consider making a financial gift to help make magic continue through the rest of the year at Sally’s House. You can make a tax-deductible donation by visiting www.makingspokanebetter.org and clicking on Donate to this Community. Please include that your gift is for ‘use at Sally’s House Spokane.’