Kids learn ‘it’s better to give than to receive’
How do you find a volunteer opportunity for two kids younger than 8?
Ask Ailene Kua and her husband, Daniel Iwasaki, and they’ll show you photographs of their two kids — Aidan and Adalyn — decked out in elf hats, delivering Star Santa Claus Fund gift boxes to 65 families.
“They’re like Santa’s little helpers,” Kua says dotingly. “That’s what we try to teach them. It’s not about receiving gifts. We have to give back.”
The siblings have been delivering gifts for the fund for two years now, and their parents intend to make it a tradition.
The Santa Fund provides 45,000 underprivileged children aged 12 and younger in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Pickering and Ajax with gift boxes. Presents are delivered by teams of volunteers.
Recipients receive a gift box with a warm shirt (toddlers get a fleece-lined tracksuit while newborn infants get a five-piece set that includes onesies), a warm hat, warm gloves or mittens, socks, a toy, a book, cookies and dental hygiene items (ages 4 and up) inside.
It’s the only present many of the kids will receive this holiday season, which is why the gift boxes aim to cover the basics and then some. All donations go directly toward the cost of the gifts.
Speaking to 8-year-old Aidan, who brought his friends Hayden and Isaac along this year to deliver presents with him and little sister Adalyn, 5, it’s clear that the fund’s simple message hasn’t been lost on them.
“We learned something new than last year,” he told the Star matter-offactly of the late November outing. “We learned that it’s better to give than to receive. I learned that because when we gave all those people gifts, I felt good.”
He regaled the Star with the story of one family, who asked the kids if they wanted to come in and share lunch with them.
“The best part is that we were so thankful that someone invited us to eat lunch — but we already ate lunch! — even though they did not have a lot of food to share with us,” Aidan said.
The families receiving the gifts seemed “very happy” when they were given the gift boxes, he said, adding that his friends and sister wished everyone happy holidays as soon as they opened the door.
Kua explained that the kids would try to carry four or five boxes at once in their small arms as they delivered the gifts door to door. When her husband posted photos of the kids’ Christmas volunteering on social media, she said, the messages came flooding in from friends asking how they could sign up.
“After we volunteered last year, we thought, ‘Oh, this is such a great thing to do every year,’ ” Kua said.
“They invited their friends from school to join us, and they had an amazing time doing it. I guess it stuck to them what it was all about.” If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.