Dominic’s Wish comes true again
11-year-old continues charitable mission collecting, donating during holiday drive
A thoroughly disheveled teen. Maybe 17 or 18 years old. He was rummaging through a garbage can outside of the Kroger store on Gratiot and Frazho.
Rose Marie Miller was waiting with her grandson, Dominic, in a car outside of the grocery store.
“He was looking for something to eat,” said Miler. “He was frantically searching in the trash can.
“Dominic was so upset by it. He said we had to help the kid who appeared to be homeless. I didn’t have any cash in my purse. Dominic opened his backpack and took out pretzels, a juice box and some of those fruit gummies that kids eat. Dominic got out of the car and walked over and gave it all to the homeless kid,” recalled Miller.
“The look on the homeless kid’s face was like something I had never seen before. It was pure surprise and gratitude. Dominic still wanted to give him something more. I kept digging in my purse
and right at the bottom, I found a receipt for something I had returned with $6 attached to it. I didn’t even know it was there. When Dominic handed him the money, he just sprinted into Kroger.”
Not too long thereafter, he saw a story of a young girl on the Disney Channel who created a library in her front yard. That motivated him to do something more.
How did Dominic, who was nearing just four years old then, learn empathy? Is compassion part of someone’s DNA?
Those qualities certainly have not subsided in the eight years that have since passed. Every years since, Dominic has launched a holiday gift drive. It is called Dominic’s Christmas Wish and, on Friday,
those gifts were delivered to Lighthouse, MCREST and Turning Point.
Divvied up between the three charitable organizations were 1,337 pair of pajamas, 1,385 books, 485 pairs of socks, nine packs of underwear, three pairs of slippers, 14 mittens, 12 hats, five scarves, four complete outfits for boys, four complete outfits for girls, and way too many crayons and coloring books to count.
“It started the year we saw the homeless man. I think we donated 60 pairs of pajamas that first year. The next year when we started school, Dominic said it was time to start gathering pajamas and books again. I asked him why we had already done that. He told me that he always got a new pair of pajamas and a book for Christmas, so the homeless should at least get that, too,” Miller said.
Dominic usually has upwards of 20 drop spots
around Eastpointe where he resides with his grandma. The COVID-19 pandemic slashed that number in half. Athena Hall hosted a drop off site this past Saturday. The Eastpointe Chamber of Commerce also had a drop off location. Dominic’s Christmas Wish Facebook page helped get the word out. Delivery trucks are known to line up outside of Miller’s house.
Dominic has much more compassion than life has shown to him. He certainly has his challenges. He has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He attends Walt Disney Elementary School in Fraser. He’s in the fifth grade in a special education class.
While this year’s Christmas items have already been distributed, it is never too late to donate.