Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Happy Holidays 2006

Readers open hearts, wallets to grant wishes

By Alexandra Zayas
Published December 29, 2006

The wrapping paper is balled up in garbage bags. The ornaments are packed in boxes. But the hope you readers gave four families this holiday season will last into the new year.

This was North of Tampa's first year running the Holiday Hopes series, profiling people in need and their holiday wishes. It definitely won't be the last.

I had no idea the series would generate the outpouring it did. Getting to the office every Friday was like waking up Christmas morning, with touching e-mails and voice messages from readers who related to the stories and wanted to help. The people I wrote about thanked me when their wishes were granted, but I told them it was you who changed their lives.

Stay tuned for next year's stories. But first, here is a roundup of the wishes you granted.

Whispered Worries, Dec. 1

Four paint-chipped walls in a tiny motel room were all that stood between Wanda Filson's family and homelessness. A whirlwind of illness and evictions left her and her three grandchildren, Janell, 12, Isaiah, 10, and Mariah, 9, wondering if they'd have a Christmas this year. They wished for a home.

GRANTED: Wanda Filson plans to use the thousands of dollars you donated to move her family into a three-bedroom double-wide mobile home just down the street from the motel where they live now. That means the kids get to go to the same schools, she keeps her job and Isaiah gets his own room. "I'm just so thankful," Filson said. "I can't believe how much people just opened up their hearts and their lives to someone they don't even know."

One Last Sunset, Dec. 8

Flossie Horn has lived her life her way. The 93-year-old witnessed the end of World War I, watched men walk on the moon and experienced true love. As her life comes to an end, all she wanted for Christmas was to see the sunset one last time.

GRANTED: About 100 phone calls and e-mails flooded the newspaper and LifePath Hospice to help grant Flossie's wish. On Dec. 19, she experienced the sunset outside a couple's condo on Sand Key and blew bubbles into the breeze. "Oh, my ... I just never expected to see it again," she told photographer Chris Zuppa. "If God made anything prettier, he kept it to himself."

Where Their Hearts Are, Dec. 15

When Kathleen Bristol met her granddaughter Khadijah for the first time, the 4-year-old's teeth were black and decayed. After the girl's mother let Bristol keep Khadijah and her baby sister, Isis, the girls went from an existence of neglect and abuse to a life with Santa Claus, good grades and home-cooked meals. The girls got a scare last year when their mother appeared and wanted them back. Unfamiliar with the court system and unemployed, Bristol asked for help to give the girls legal security so they could stay.

GRANTED: South Tampa lawyer Catherine M. Catlin read the story and offered Bristol her services for free. Bristol said: "Not only can I get custody, I can adopt them. And if I adopt them, they can really be mine and nobody can take them." As Catlin helps with the adoption, readers donated gift certificates to help Bristol with gifts. "I don't think they've ever had this many presents before," Bristol said. "I am so grateful. This is just unbelievable to me."

Fragile: Handle With Care, Dec. 22

After a long marriage without being able to conceive, Doug and Janet McDonald had triplets, and they were beautiful. Then they learned that two of the triplets were severely autistic. Two years ago, Doug collapsed at a Home Depot and died of a pulmonary embolism. Janet learned that he didn't have any life insurance. Scraping for money, with no time for a job, Janet McDonald needed help.

GETTING THERE: Janet McDonald received a handful of heartfelt calls and donations, and the folks from Little Caesar's Pizza sent gift cards after learning it was 7-year-old Dougie's favorite food. But Janet wished that her children could get specialized care for their autism that she can't afford. That wish still needs to be granted. To help, call her at (813) 317-5885.

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 07:14:42]