Stories that show the good in all of us
There is a special place in the afterlife for people who steal from charities. And it should be even more uncomfortably toasty for those who steal Christmas presents for disadvantaged kids.
But steal some do.
A week ago, someone broke into a storage locker on the grounds of the Larkin Center in Elgin and plundered many of the gifts that had been collected from the center's Giving Tree campaign. Tags had been hung from Christmas trees in more than 50 sites across the suburbs, and people gave, believing that they would be making the holidays happier for the center's clients — many of them kids with emotional issues. Among the loot were game systems, MP3 players, athletic equipment and tools.
In Chicago, someone is believed to have embezzled $25,000 from Toys For Tots.
But like many awful stories you hear at this time of year, these two have endings that would have shocked even the likes of George Bailey.
When word got out about the burglary at Larkin Center, students at Larkin High School (no affiliation) took up a collection of a few hundred bucks and donated it. The Boys and Girls Club of Elgin asked one of its benefactors — Intuit in Schaumburg — to lend a hand. And St. Catherine of Siena Church in West Dundee added new tags to its own giving tree.
By Monday, donations to Larkin Center had eclipsed $4,000.
These are organizations that have their own to look after, and they're looking after others.
In the case of Toys For Tots, someone anonymously donated $25,000.
It's not just crime that the good people in the suburbs try to right. When disaster strikes, you jump at the chance to help.
A week ago, an Elgin family's Christmas tree caught fire, destroying the living room and most of their belongings. The house was uninhabitable and would take months to restore.
Their son's football coach at St. Edward Catholic High School learned of the situation and he and his wife launched a rescue plan. Within a couple days, the family was living in a donated house that has been on the market for most of the year. Cabela's in Hoffman Estates donated cold weather clothing and St. Thomas More Church collected a truckload of necessities. Kids, including the football team, made their move happen.
We see these types of stories just about every holiday season. And throughout the year. The Hanover Park girl donating her bat mitzvah proceeds to a sick Carpentersville boy she's never met; the company helping an Elk Grove Village family with developmentally disabled kids and a mom with breast cancer; the Antioch church whose gifts for needy kids were stolen — and then replaced. These stories never cease to inspire us.
They show us that no matter how often we're touched by evil, the good in us shines through.