(WMAR) — Most kids tend to have a lengthy list of things they want from Santa for Christmas. For one young girl from Westminster, her wish to Santa was simple. She wanted him to help children in need.
“I wrote a letter to Santa saying if every kid, a child in need could have a blanket or their favorite toy for Christmas,” said 10-year-old Tessa Barber. “I just like having my blanket and keeping me safe and warm. I thought that every child in need would like to have the same.”
It’s a thoughtful gesture her mother, Keely Barber didn’t see coming.
“Well, to be honest, I cried,” said Barber. “It melted my heart.”
Barber knew she had to do something about it. Last year, the Barber family decided to take Tessa’s Christmas wish and turn it into a Christmas miracle by collecting more than 80 blankets to hand out to children in need.
“I thought well, I have a lot more stuff than other kids do, and I thought well that maybe instead of getting I could give,” said Tessa.
This year the family is hoping to help even more. Tessa has set a goal of collecting 200 blankets before the holidays to make sure kids in need are warm. So far the support has been overwhelming.
“I was more than shocked with the outpouring of support we’ve gotten,” said Barber.
“It makes me feel really helpful,” said Tessa. “It just makes me feel really good about myself because it’s helping other kids and not just me.”
Tessa is not just helping to spread holiday cheer to kids in need, she also helping her own family embrace a new sense of charity during the holidays.
“The day after we gave everything out, both of my children said we need to make this a family tradition,” said Barber. “I just said I couldn’t agree with you more guys”
The Barber Family is hoping to keep the tradition of giving out blankets alive for many more years. Last year, they handed blankets out to a church in Westminster. This year, they are looking for other organizations that can help them help reach even more children in need.
Tessa and her family are looking for blanket donations as well as monetary donations that will be used to buy even more blankets. They will be collecting donations until December 20th through their GoFundMe page. They plan on handing out the blankets on December 23rd right before the Holidays.
