Holiday Giving

Christmas has finally arrived to end a year seemingly more representative of a decade. Although we can all agree that 2020 has been a challenging year, Christmas gives us a reason to celebrate. Christmas reminds us all what we value: love, relationships, family, and connection. Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth—the greatest gift of all, borne of unconditional love. In the face of the difficulties 2020 has presented us, we return to our values within our community at last. It is our love and connection that bring us a community of caring and generosity. Once again, our community came through for those of us too often forgotten: our elders residing in Rainbow Health Care Community.

Each year, community members join to provide a love gifting for the residents of Rainbow. Bristow Community Connection organizes and coordinates the gifting from Bristow’s generous community members. We work together to shower love and support upon those who feel lonely, forgotten, and unloved in Rainbow. Thank you, Bristow.

Despite 2020 bringing misery, love reigned. Ensuring that each resident received love and support this Christmas, seventy-five gifts were provided to Rainbow courtesy of our generous Bristow community. Each resident received personal care and comfort items including gender-specific chapstick, lotion, body wash, stocking hats, gloves, fleece scarves, thermal socks, fun socks, a yummy treat bag, Christmas mints, and cards from community members and organizations. Additionally, each resident received an incredibly special gift: a fleece blanket made by Marshall McRae, an especially compassionate, generous ten-year-old child.

Marshall wants to be a physician for NASA. Preparing for his future, he started his own business to raise money to pay for his college education. Immediately following Bristow Community Connection’s announcement about our annual love gifting, Marshall reached out to express his desire to donate. He wanted to make and donate seventy-five lap blankets, one for each resident. Marshall used the money he had already raised for his education via his business coupled with coupons to buy all of the necessary materials to make the blankets. He then made the blankets by himself, choosing to add a pocket for goodies with a unique Bible verse or witty phrase on each pocket. Finally, Marshall stuffed each pocket with tasty goodies, a deck of cards, and other items prior to gifting them.

In addition to Marshall, so many of us contributed this year. Each of us gave according to our own abilities. Bristowans donated money, time, effort, cards, and supplies. Some helped package and deliver or offered encouragements. All of us gifted our love and support for our fellow family and community members at Rainbow. In appreciation of their gifts, let us thank each of these generous gifters: Mary Dial, Marshall McRae, Phil and Sherry Elias of PSE, Inc., The Bristow VFW Post 3656 Auxiliary, Tammie Pound of Bob Pound Drilling, Paige Stolhand, Sherri Crossley, The Ashton Williams Foundation, Patsy Anderson, Jenna Johnson, Shelly Vaughn, The McRae Family, Althea Chasteen, Summer Witty, Brenda Morris, Kaye James, The Bristow Historical Society, Curtis Mayberry of CRM Construction, LLC, Carlena Sission, Marti Teehee, Scott Leatherwood, Susan Hughes, Jen Gentry, Katy and family, Letha Caudle, Marilyn Jensen, and the multiple community members wishing to remain anonymous. Additional thanks goes out to the employees of Dollar Tree, Montfort & Allie B. Jones Library, and Rainbow Health Care Community, with special thanks to Jodi and Hayley.

Bristow, we have gifted love to the lonely in celebration of Christmas despite a miserable 2020. If we only take away a single thing from this experience, please let it be that love, family, relationships, connection, and community will not be diminished by any nastiness the world throws at us. As we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas this year, may we all know the unconditional love that exists among us because it lives within us. Merry Christmas.