Holiday Gifts for Children of the Reservations

Holiday and Year-Round Giving - Happy HolidaysWhile some may feel it is frivolous for a nonprofit to provide Christmas stockings for thousands of youth, we view this quite differently. It isn’t all about the stockings – it’s about the experience. It is about the gift of receiving and what that creates for a young person, especially those living on federal Indian reservations.

A little girl from Pojoaque with a big stockingThink for a moment. Put yourself in their shoes. You are a child too young to be so aware of the struggle all around you. After what funding your family receives for the month is gone, things get lean as usual. Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma want to give you the world, but they can’t. The struggle is real, and for you, Christmas is just another day off from school.

Bear with me for just another minute and keep imagining yourself as this child. You are at school, the one place where you know you can depend on having two meals a day. After weeks of anticipation, Santa and his elves have finally arrived with a Christmas stocking for you and the rest of your classmates. Santa visits with you briefly. The teacher takes your picture with Santa. You return to class with a stocking in hand and food in your stomach. Today was a good day.

For some children, days like these don’t often come. In fact, there are some children that may not receive anything at all for Christmas. There is a huge value to spreading holiday cheer. It matters that the stockings are a mix of toys and practical items but more so that the children were remembered.

Pine Ridge youth get a visit from SantaBy partnering with reservation schools, PWNA has provided countless youth with a holiday stocking of their very own and the opportunity to see the man all kids look forward to seeing every year, Santa. While moments like these may be fleeting for children growing up on some of the poorest reservations, the impact of these moments lasts forever. Simply experiencing the gift of “receiving” boosts a child’s self-esteem and potentially influences the child to become a future giver who remembers others in need.

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