Keller Families Find Joy in Christmas Giving

Pictured above: The Hyatt and Young Families. (Photo by Jill Young) 

If you had been shopping in the North Richland Hills Walmart on Saturday morning, you may have seen quite a few families with carts full of toys. Several dozen people from the Keller congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered for their annual shopping spree for the children at the I Can Still Shine Foundation. The foundation helps battered women and children in the DFW and Mid-Cities through their faith-based, safe, supportive center. They welcome all women and children from all walks of life; no exceptions.

Jill Young, a local entrepreneur, organizes the shopping day each year. She enjoys the efficiency and the direct way that families can help the clients at I Can Still Shine. “After having been a part of formal Christmas charity events that involved lots of paperwork, months of organization and last minute heroic efforts that stressed out volunteers, I came up with a simple event that could support the women and children, minimize the paperwork and maximize the fun and connection that buying toys for kiddos brings families, friends and neighbors,” Young explains. “For several years now, we’ve gathered at a local Walmart for a few hours on a Saturday morning and have hit the toy shelves, buying more than $10,000 each year in toys for kids. Although volunteer shoppers often use their own money to buy the toys, local entrepreneurs have also donated to the effort, giving opportunities to kids, teenagers, and families that can’t use their own funds an opportunity to shop for kids less fortunate.”

The Keller Second Ward, an LDS congregation in central Keller, has been particularly supportive. I Can Still Shine Foundation director, Brenda Jackson, expressed her gratitude: “It is unbelievable to us that after 14 years, our friends at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still help us get gifts for our moms and kids. So many kids in our area do not have anything under the tree and because of friends like this, not one of our children has ever, ever been forgotten.”

Lance Pierce, the Bishop of the Keller Second Ward, was shopping with the group in his shirt and tie before church meetings Saturday afternoon. “We love this wonderful activity. It allows us to connect with members of our congregation in a different way, raises our combined Christmas spirits, and provides a wonderful service for the I Can Still Shine Foundation. Yesterday was special and sweet on so many levels.”

The ward has served the local foundation in many ways over the years. Often, the youth will gather on a Wednesday night to sort through the donation room, organizing toiletries, bedding and other goods that are available for the women and children who are served by the foundation. “I like knowing I can help provide a safe, clean place for these moms and kids to come when they are in distress,” says Audrey Horn, a Keller High School senior. She was shopping with her family at Walmart, too. “Ms. Jackson told us that sometimes the women have to leave their homes in the middle of the night to get to a safe place before their abuser notices. I can’t imagine what kind of fear they must feel in that situation, but I am glad that I Can Still Shine is here for them, no questions asked. We have fun picking out toys for the kids every year; I like to think about the joy they will have on their faces on Christmas morning.”

After all the shopping was complete, several families from the congregation delivered the truckloads of toys to the Foundation. “Our moms come choose the gifts, they wrap them and put them under their tree,” said Brenda Jackson. “On Christmas morning, the kids wake up and have gifts. The moms get all the credit and the kids have no idea the gifts are from our generous donors. That way, she is the hero! There are no words to express our gratitude for all the love and kindness our supporters show to our moms and kids.”