A pair of Port Lambton girls are donating their birthday gifts this year to the Ronald McDonald House, and they are also gathering Christmas gifts for a courageous local girl.
Emma VanRuymbeke and Sophia Burgess will be turning seven and six on December 17, and the gifts from their joint birthday party will be donated to the London charity.
“This all started back in the summer around the baseball field,” Kaylen Burgess, Sophia’s mom, told the Sydenham Current.
“The girls decided they would like to have a joint birthday party this year and then the idea of donating the gifts was initiated by the moms. We sat down and discussed options of where to donate and we decided on the Ronald McDonald House in London, as we have family and friends who have benefited from this great charity.”
Kaylen added: “It is so important to teach our children about giving back, something we try to instill in them every single day. We want them to understand that not every child has it as good as them, that there are kids who will not be home with their families this Christmas. The most important quality one can have is generosity, we believe strongly in teaching this to the kids.”
A ‘dance party’ themed birthday, with all of the Grade 1 and 2 girls from Sacred Heart in Port Lambton, has been planned for the girls. All of their friends and family have been asked to bring an unwrapped gift to donate to a child at the Ronald McDonald House.
Both the girls are looking forward to helping out some other children.
“I think it is really sad that they are not at home for Christmas,” Sophia said. “Mommy told me this is what I can do to help them.”
Emma added: “Because they are spending their Christmas in the hospital… it will help make them happy because they want to spend time with their family and can’t and it’s important to be nice.”
Kaylen said the birthday party plans were made back in October, but then an unexpected turn took place.
“We learned that a little girl who we have all been cheering on for the past two years had sadly relapsed,” she said.
Hayden Foulon is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and is currently undergoing chemo therapy treatments in London.
“We read an article on the ‘Go Team Hayden’ Facebook page and immediately wanted to do something special for this little girl and her family,” Kaylen said.
“We wanted to do something to help take away the added stress of Christmas in an already stressful situation. We want to make sure Hayden has a great Christmas this year and we are asking for the help of this great community.”
Kaylen said her and her husband Jason, along with Sophia’s parents Jeremy and Casie, will be accepting donations for Hayden until December 16.
“Hayden is four-years-old and she loves Paw Patrol, P.J Masks, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” she said.
“When you are out shopping for your families over the next week and a half please think about what this family is going through and pick up something extra for Hayden or another child spending Christmas in hospital. Gas cards are also very helpful for the family at this time. We will gladly pick up any donations.”
Contact Kaylen at kaylen.burgess84@gmail.com or Casie at casiemoran@hotmail.com.
“We can pretty much guarantee you this one extra gift you buy is going to make a world of difference to someone else,” Kaylen said.
The donations will be dropped off to the Ronald McDonald House, and to Hayden, on December 17.
– Submitted photos
