With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday behind us, we are settling back into our routines. For one Atlanta family, life has forever changed for the better because a local company decided to forgo bonuses and gifts and to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
One special Atlanta woman and her three-year-old twin girls had no idea their lives would be changed by total strangers that day. The twins’ mother did what she had been doing for years that morning. With no car, she caught two different busses to get to the first of her two jobs.
When she arrived at work, the team from the local company was waiting with the gifts the company personnel had worked hard to gather and prepare. The team also brought Santa along to share gifts with her toddlers.
“The look on their faces was worth everything we did to make this day happen,” said David Lewgood. “When she realized all of the gifts for her and the girls – the toys, clothing, home goods, groceries, and bicycles – were not even the team’s biggest gift, she began to cry. That’s when I started to cry,” he added. “Since I was playing Santa that day, I had to pull it together quickly for the girls.”
What was the big gift you ask? The team presented this special family with a 2008 Toyota Corolla! They even threw in the insurance for an entire year, as well as a $500 gas card!
“She was the first person who came to mind when we approached our church looking to bless a family for Christmas,” said an Atlanta pastor who wishes to remain anonymous. “She takes three forms of public transportation – a bus, a train, and then another bus – to get to work every day. She is never late, never complains, and always has a positive, upbeat attitude,” he added.
“Being blessed with our recent success, there was never a question that we would give back,” said the Vice President of Operations. “In the early years of struggling to build our company - it wasn’t possible, but we always said we would bless others in our community as soon as we could,” he said.
“It gives our entire team great joy to know that we made the lives of this family a little better,” said one employee. “You always hear people say it is better to give than to receive,” she added. “We couldn’t have received a better gift than the feeling our team had helping change this family’s lives for the better.”