Thank you for helping us fill the wishes of Dallas County abused and neglected children this year! HPUMC is our largest filler of wishes (at 600 wishes) and we are truly grateful to all of your members for stepping up to make dreams into reality for our kids.

As you may imagine, many of these children have never had a wish fulfilled. Adults in their lives have often disappointed them. So when their CPS caseworker asks them what they’d like for Christmas, they might whisper a wish, but they don’t think their wish will be fulfilled. When their CPS caseworker shows up with a gift – the one they asked for – it helps them to see that there are adults in their lives who listen to them and will come through with their promises. I know this helps these kids – often who have been told by those who are supposed to love them – to see that the world is not such a dark place and that they are loved.

Remember, these are kids who have been told by their mother and/or their father that they are ugly, stupid, worthless – even have heard the words “I hate you and I wish you’d never been born” – their self esteem is shot. Community Partners of Dallas helps kids 365 days a year, 24 hours a day with all of the emergency needs that they require. All these children want is to be loved and sometimes a toy is the thing that will change their lives forever.

Here is a CPS caseworker story from last year’s toy drive.

“I had a very charming and wonderful little boy on my caseload and the gift was a miniature drone. At first, because it was a small package, he did not seem particularly impressed. Then he opened it and I thought he was going to orbit the moon! His eyes lit up and his face became awakened to what had to be the gift of the century! He removed it from it's package and together we began assembling it, which included my having to program it with its remote control. The process took about 30 minutes, and the anticipation was palpable! He literally could not wait to be able to fly his new drone!! Well, we got it together and we started it up. The wings began to circulate and it lifted off of the ground and into the air! That was it! He was mesmerized! I have never seen a child so alive with excitement and joy! He could not stop laughing as he took command of his new starship, taking over the controls and navigating the solar system from his driveway! Definitely one for the books!” – B.B., CPS Caseworker

As you can see, the Toy Drive not only helps the child who receives the gift, but also the CPS caseworker who is assigned to that child. The CPD Toy Drive is such a great joy for the CPS caseworkers who work long hours with low pay and are stressed out and knocking on doors you and I would be afraid to knock on. Being able to provide a toy to the children on their caseloads at Christmas is their favorite part of their job!

One of Dallas County’s hardworking CPS caseworkers recently told me a story.

“I remember being a new caseworker around the time of last year’s toy drive. I went out with my mentor to deliver gifts to our clients. One kid’s face lit up with joy when she saw her little red wagon coming through the door. She ran to us and gave us both a HUGE hug and kept saying ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ It was at that moment that I knew I was at the right job, at the right season, for the right reasons!”

Our Toy Drive will provide two wishes each for more than 5,500 children this year. Thank you to HPUMC for making sure that so many children wake up on Christmas morning to find joy instead of pain this year – YOU will bring a smile to a child you may never know. What a gift to Jesus!