The RomeSanta Project is a labor of love in the making for several years now. As a very underprivileged, at times homeless, child myself, I will never forget the joy I felt when an organization, church or even just community members with a kind heart handed out gifts, food, clothes, goodie bags or well wishes at Christmas time..
It’s very easy to believe that the entire world is a cold hard place when that it is all you’re used to in everyday life. This means that for lost, forgotten, invisible or otherwise disadvantaged children, those rare moments of joy and reminders that there are awesome things in the world (things like, love, joy and most importantly HOPE) are instrumental to their development.
It may seem like just a bag of candy, toys and silly things to a lot of folks – but I remember the magic. I remember the magic inside each and every one of those kind hearted gestures. As an adult giving out Goodie Bags instead of wrapped gifts, I saw that it was still there! Even on the adults faces I caught that hint of magic and belief in humanity – if only for a second! So, all these years later, I’ve finally managed to get a small project off the ground, for a big thing in our community!
I work solely with my own finds, gifts and the donations and generosity of others, so I never know quite how many Goodie Bags we’ll manage each Christmas, but just as Jesus feed thousands with so little, I believe even if it’s just some candy and joy, no child will go away hungry! Of course these days I have started to focus on things like warm socks, winter hats, grocery gift cards and other items a struggling family might use to find the strength to carry on just a bit longer. As a homeless child myself, the stories of my resign to give-up being broken by the mere kindness of a hot meal are so much more plentiful than you might believe.
Let’s work to show these children and their families that it’s worth one more day of fighting. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, suggestions or helpful hints any time at all.
Thank You,
Nicole Edwards, Founder
The Rome Santa Project
Email: Santa@RomeSanta.com
Messages: (706) 762-1661