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Stars Shine Brightly for Many Families at Christmas through Wish Upon a Star!

The Messenger
The Messenger 2025-02-01

Thank you for the gifts, gift cards, and financial donations that your provided for the 2024 Wish Upon a Star Program. Over 150 of you supported the program, and as a result, we were able to provide presents for 30 families in the area and 16 youth living in Everstand (formerly Board of Child Care) residential housing units. Below are more details on what you made happen:

· 144 people from Glen Mar provided approximately 470 individual gifts

· $2,000 in gift cards provided to the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center to share with individuals and families it serves

· $2,000 provided to Steps of Hope, Guatemala so it could purchase about 100 Christmas blessing baskets of food and basic supplies for its families.

Each present has an impact! Below is a message from one of the children who was supported through the program:

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for the presents and the generosity you’ve shown towards me, especially during such a difficult time for my family. I hope your holiday season was just as blessed as you made mine feel. I would have been gracious and appreciative with anything that was gifted to me, but the obvious time and effort put into my gifts made me forget that they were from someone who never even met me. It taught me a little about the person behind the present – thoughtful, generous, selfless, and compassionate. So, since I know a little about you, let me tell you a little about me. I am a freshman in school. I play lacrosse and as you know from my wish list, I love to draw. I won homecoming queen this year at my school and my favorite part of the whole experience was creating the posters! I truly value learning. I am in JROTC and have gotten two promotions already! You and I share the passion for giving. For the past few years excluding this one, my mom and I volunteered with the Bea Gaddy nonprofit in Baltimore where we delivered Thanksgiving dinners to those in need. We also have adopted a family every year at Christmas. Giving is so much more fun than receiving! My mom always says, ‘Do it for the outcome not for the income.’ To me that means that you should lead with your heart. Make choices that result in an outcome that is priceless. Thank you for being a big part of the magic of Christmas this year. I hope you start each day with the same smile your kindness has given me.”

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