“It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”
–Mother Teresa
The Season of Giving, the Season of Serving, the Season of Hope, is upon us! Christmas is described in many different ways all over the world, but the one thing, in my humble opinion, that it mostly stands for is Giving. The Spirit of Giving is powerful, whether it is in giving a special gift to a loved one, and even more so, when we give to others who we do not even know.
I know of no one who most demonstrates that spirit of giving than my friend “Santa Ramon”. Ramón González lives in South Tucson, Arizona. In 1970, seeing that the parents of the children where he lived did not have money to buy gifts at Christmas, it occurred to Ramon that he could do something about it.
Ramon didn’t have a lot of money either, but with what he had, he bought hot dogs and other things and organized a Christmas party and invited all the families in his neighborhood. In addition to the food, he made sure to buy some toys for each child. It was that way, that Santa Ramon, founded what is now known as “Ramon’s Miracle on 31st Street” (or Christmas in the Barrio).
For the last several years, the party that Santa Ramon founded, has served more than 10.000 children every December and Santa Ramon and his family, are the ones that motivate that entire area of Arizona to UNITE to ensure that low-income children receive something at Christmas.
My wife and I had the honor of volunteering at Ramon’s party for several years while we were at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson.
In 2005, along with several kind-hearted people, we founded the Emerald Coast Christmas Miracle Fiesta here in Fort Walton Beach. On December 19th, the 16th anniversary of the Fiesta will take place and is organized by United for a Good Cause Inc., a 501c3 charitable organization.
The purpose of the party is to give everyone who goes, especially children, the opportunity to just have a good time and so that low-income families can enjoy a merry Christmas! For more details about the Fiesta, please see the ad in this edition and/or go to the organization’s website: unitedforagoodcause.org
The Christmas Miracle was inspired by Ramon’s powerful example of Giving. There are thousands of children in need in our area, countless families who simply do not have the means to give their children gifts during Christmas. Our organization, through the party, gives us, and gives you, the chance to make sure the Spirit of Giving is alive and well, a chance for you to be SANTA CLAUS!
We invite you to be part of this great event and join us as a volunteer or by donating a toy or making a monetary contribution towards it.
Go to Facebook or the website to see videos, photos and more information about previous years parties and other major projects that the organization leads: www.unitedforagoodcause.org
God bless you and have a very Merry Christmas!
