Shoe Spirit
 Birthday parties seem like a pretty good excuse for children to think mostly of themselves. But for 8-year-old Mary Beth DeLaCruz, it instead was her opportunity to give to a group of children she had never even met.
“We were shocked,” said her mother, Donna. “She came up with the idea all by herself with no prompting from us whatsoever. It was quite a moment.”
Mary Beth, eager to begin planning her September birthday party early, sprung her idea on her parents while they were on vacation in August.
“I don’t want presents this year for my birthday,” she said. “I want to give presents to kids who don’t have any.”
A fan of the American Girl Doll series, she had recently watched a movie starring an American Girl depicting an orphan, which sparked the idea in the little girl.
“It was one of those moments where you are really proud of your child and think that maybe something you have taught them is getting through,” Donna said.
Donna remembered hearing about Texas Baptist Children’s Home from her father and stepmother, who are longtime friends of Don Cramer, Vice President of Children At Heart Foundation, the fundraising and communications arm for Children At Heart Ministries. The family decided to take a tour of the ministry to learn more.
“We had such a good time taking the tour and learning about the ministry further,” Donna said. When Mary Beth asked if she could bring presents to the kids, Brenda Gilbert, TBCH Volunteer Coordinator, suggested shoes instead.
“I knew this little girl really wanted to make a difference and shoes are sometimes one of the most needed but under-donated items we receive,” said Brenda.
Mary Beth was thrilled by the idea.
“To an 8-year-old girl, any reason to buy shoes is a good one,” Donna added with a laugh. “She was so excited.”
And so were her birthday party guests, who each bought at least one pair of shoes to be donated instead of a gift for their host.
“Some people bought more than one pair,” said Donna. “My mother bought four pairs. Everyone was really into it.”
Donna, who was raised by a single mother, felt a connection to providing something for displaced children. Now she has started planning her own shoe party for mothers in the Family Care Program. And she isn’t the only one inspired by Mary Beth’s selflessness.
“We recently went to another little girl’s party who was at Mary Beth’s birthday party and she was asking for donations to another charity,” said Donna. “It’s like a ripple effect.”
It seems that Mary Beth’s simple request has deepened her entire family’s commitment to service, as well. After their visit to TBCH, the DeLaCruzes became inspired to make dinner for a cottage on a regular basis after hearing about others providing a similar service.
“It’s contagious. We want to find new ways to give back and are excited about it,” said Donna. “Mary Beth’s idea to give to others less fortunate really made others re-examine their lives. “It made us all ask ourselves, ‘If a child can give up their birthday presents then, what can I sacrifice?’”
|