We Make Dirty Look Good: Day Three at CASA

Another morning in the garden...sigh.  It was so hot today, and in the sun it felt worse.  We told Lee about Manna House and we had a nice chat about it.  He told us, "The sad thing is, it's not just Huntsville.  This is going on in your hometowns and everywhere.  We're thankful you're here, but it's a nationwide problem."  It was definitely a reminder that we need to be bringing this service back home.  Sometimes the best thing you can do to change the world is to help out at home.

This morning involved more clean-up (weeding, raking, marking fire ant hills, etc.) and delivering tables from a party store.  Three of us went with Lee to get tables, while the other three did all the dirty work.  I gotta be honest, we didnt' do much out wiht Lee.  Mostly the buff Alabama men did all the lifting, but we offered moral support. And let me tell you, the ladies who stayed behind make dirty work look good.  We all joined in picking up sticks, filling in holes, basically fixing anything "your grandma might trip over."  This party will include lots of elderly folk, from CASA clients, to wealthy patrons, volunteers, and gardeneres, so it's important that we prepare for our elderly clientele who might not see so well or have great balance.

And that was a wrap for the garden this morning.

After that we went out to 8th Street, a very special place full of love. I was a little confused why we went there at first, because it's a house for disabled adults, and I did not sign up to volunteer at a disability site, but I quickly readjusted my focus to thinking about how the disabled age.  Think about it.  In schools we have special programs for the mentally handicapped.  We get them out of high school, and then what are they supposed to do in the world?  Some get jobs.  Some lucky ones go to college.  But lots live with their parents and struggle to find a place in the world all their lives, which in some cases can be quite long.

8th Street is a 6,000 square foot house where several people live with housekeeper.  All of them are adults with a variety of disabilities, but generally speaking, they all have IQs under 69.  Andrea runs the place.  She told us "They all have a variety of wonderful abilities, they just have different needs."  We were given a few quick, easy tasks to do, and then just welcomed to make ourselves at home and visit with the residents.

We began by organizing a storage closet and taking the unneeded things to a thrift store around the corner and harvesting their cabbages and making fresh flower bouquets.  Then we dusted the basement, but that only took until 3pm and we were supposed to be there until 5pm.  After Andrea left, we had a choice to make.  We could leave her a note and leave early, or we could stay and try to make friends with the residents.  We chose the latter, and I have to say it's been my favorite part of the trip so far.

First, we just watched Walker, Texas Ranger with Granny, Michael, Ira, and a few others.  Ira was a good time.  He was very cheerful, and loved cologne, so he smelled very strong, but nice.  He was wonderful encouragement when I was self-conscious about my wilty flower bouquet.  Granny was an adorable old woman who took pictures of us and showed us her new bed.  Michael needed help applying for a job, so Caroline helped him fill out an application to Wal-Mart, and we soon discovered how smart he really was.  We struck up some general conversation, and he mentioned they had a basketball hoop outside.  Seeing an opportunity, I said "Wanna play?" and we all went outside to play HORSE with Michael.  He was pretty good!  We had a ton of fun playing basketball with Michael.  We made fun of each other fondly, got some healthy competition going, and Michael taught us all the rules and kept score.  Afterwards we took a group photo, and Michael told us he had a facebook and we needed to tag him in it.  Guess I've got a new facebook friend!

We took a quick picture with John-John, the "Ladies' Man," who informed us about his cavortings at Wal-Mart and the Blue Plate Cafe, and then we had to say good-bye.  Everyone wanted us to come back again, but sadly, this is our only day at 8th Street.  I really wish we could come back to 8th Street.  It's a wonderful place.  They didn't really need us there as volunteers.  They take care of themselves.  They do their own cleaning and laundry, have jobs, and have free reign of the house and neighborhood, they just need a good support system.  We weren't there to take care of anybody, we were there to be their friends. And it's such a welcoming environment.  I've never felt so at home in anyone else's living room as I did at 8th Street.  The residents were totally lucid and conversational, you'd hardly know they had a mental disability.

Anyway, it's something to think about.  If all those special needs children in high school grow up and graduate, and their parents get older and die, what happens to them then?  They need a place live and some to support them.  With very little income and such great medical expenses, it's a real conundrum.  8th Street brings a group of special needs adults and combines their talents and fulfills their needs so that they have a family and can be more or less independent in old age. 

Ciao for now

Huntsville, AL: CASA Day 4--Southern Kindness Continues to astound us!

Day four awoke with another four hours in the CASA garden. We split up, and while Kassy, Lisa, and Caroline worked like maniacs in the dirt, Jenny, Meghan, and myself accompanied Lee to the events planning warehouse where we picked up tables and tent poles for the Garden party fundraiser CASA has been preparing the garden for since we arrived in Alabama.  While at Mullen's (the event planning store) Meghan and I met a man we both agreed was by far the most attractive we had seen the whole trip. But enough of that--this trip isn't about us finding Southern love (though I did promise Hannah, one of the Summer Alternative Breaks coordinators, that I would reenact Sweet Home Alabama (the Reese Witherspoon movie, not the song)) it is about serving others and learning about the people we are helping.  Which is why Team CASA's trip to 8th street this afternoon was absolutely perfect.
After spending our trip thus far working at some distance from the people we are serving, (even at Manna House, we only had moments with those coming through the line--never enough time to ask about their lives, but only enough time to observe things about their appearance or stature) 8th street was a totally new experience.  8th street is actually '305 8th Street', an address to a six-thousand square foot home that houses sixteen mentally disabled residents (Alabama considers those who are mentally disabled to be anyone with an I.Q. of 69 or below) in a community-living atmosphere, sort of like a Scholarship Hall, for those University of Kansas students familiar with the set-up.  I think the lady in charge when we arrived was a bit surprised that we were staying for four hours.  The tasks she gave us to work on were very simple, and within two hours we had a majority of the work done.  However, we took advantage of our down time by getting to know the residents.  8th Street is a really wonderful home, and right away it is clear that the residents and workers care deeply for one another.  Team CASA gathered in the living room with a few of the residents who were awake and watching TV--"Walker, Texas Ranger," a personal favorite of my childhood, one that I was shocked to find out Caroline and Meghan had never seen!  (I guess now is as good a first time as ever, right?)--and as we talked, it was great to finally get to know the people we are serving.  Ira, a tall man with a very lively spirit and a trucker's hat, was very good at keeping a conversation going with great jokes and come-backs.  Granny, the sweetest little old lady in a night gown, sat and told Meghan stories of her family and childhood.  We found out from the lady in charge (who kindly gave us a very thorough tour of the intricate house) that the residents had been housed in a hotel for three weeks while 8th street was getting some major renovations done, and that Granny--who had charmed the hotel staff--had been given a bed to take home with her, courtesy of the hotel, because she was so comfortable sleeping in it.    Finally, our group bonded quickly with Michael, a man who was very eager to meet and get to know us.  Eventually he invited us out to shoot some hoops (since we are, of course, from the greatest Basketball school in the country!) and soon a friendly game of 'HORSE' started up. Michael, of course, had to refresh our memories on how to play, but despite our lack of hand-eye coordination, we all were shooting pretty well by the end.  Over all, it was probably the most fun I've had playing outside since I was a little kid.
Team CASA has decided that our trip is the 'Service Collage,' meaning that we are being exposed to a little bit of everything concerning those involved with assisting the poverty-stricken, the homeless, the home-bound, the aging, and those needing assistance to live.  We are extremely excited about this, though, because no where else would we be able to learn so much in just a week and a half.
In the evening, we explored the downtown Farmer's Market and the Hunstville Artwalk that coincide once a month on Thursday evenings.  I was excited to finally be able to pull my film camera out, and can't wait to get my pictures developed!  We keep discovering just exactly how historical Huntsville is, and the people continue to amaze us with their southern charm and sweet hospitality. First United Methodist Church, which has so kindly housed us for our time here, was actually founded in 1808 in Hunstville (the Sanctuary chapel).   Billy, FUMC's maintenance man and our guardian angel, has been so excited to assist us, and was so pleased to open the door and show us the Sanctuary chapel, which actually has a very cool spiral staircase in the foyer.  I'll have to admit, I did splurge on some pickled okra and a very cool-looking ceramic mug and a hilarious looking birdhouse which may end up becoming a Christmas gift (so if you think it'll be yours, forget you read this!) In the morning we talked to Lee about possible sights to visit on our day off and discovered that the Appalachian mountains are actually the hills that fill the horizons of Huntsville on every side, and Team CASA is super excited to go hiking! (So look for a post about our soon-to-be-amazing adventure later!)
Everyday Huntsville, Alabama, and the South in general become more and more lovable, and I think we will all miss our fantastic adventure here when it is over. I just wish I knew more about the state and culture in general. We have all agreed that this cannot be the only time we visit Alabama.  And the next time we come?  Of course we are visiting all of the lovely people we've been blessed to make friends with this time!
-Tasha Cerny, CASA Summer Alternative Breaks 2012

Kansas Girls Work Harder than Alabama Girls: Day Two at CASA

Let me just say, no one was excited to go work in the garden again.  But Day 2 turned out to be a lot easier than Day 1....in some ways. 

We arrived at the garden and were told to begin by pitchforking more wood chips into yet another bare spot of the garden.  As we picked up our pitchforks to do our duty, an older volunteer said to us "Kansas girls work harder than Alabama girls!  You'd never see an Alabama girl pick up a pitchfork!"  We joked about how we have to be strong to hang on in tornados, but I was pretty grateful to hear some appreciation.  I know we're supposed to serve and not expect thanks, but it's nice to get some recognition.

Piling the wood chips didn't seem so bad this time.  I think we've just gotten really good at it.  (I'm adding that as a special skill to my resume...just kidding...maybe.)

The hard work today was weeding...weeding for three hours.  We started with this nifty hoe tool that allows you to stand while scraping small weeds out of the dirt, but by the time I got to the cabbage row, it just wasn't working.  Cabbages have HUGE leaves, so weeding with a hoe just breaks all the leaves, and besides there were so many weeds, and so deeply rooted, that you really had to pull them out by hand.  It took me a full hour to do one cabbage row.

Karen and Lee were there today, but they were mostly doing their own thing.  Karen told us how different Huntsville is from other places in Alabama.  She really emphasized the education level and the empathy and action of citizens. 

In the afternoon, we were glad to spend time at Manna House, a food kitchen that distributes one-day expired food from the grocery store and donations to Huntsville's hungry.  It is an impressive operation.  We walked in expecting an orientation of some kind, but it was clear there was no time for explanations.  We were put to work immediately bagging bologna sandwiches and desserts.  There were about a dozen other adult volunteers there.  They were all shocked to discover we were from the University of Kansas, not because they couldn't believe we were from Kansas, but because they couldn't believe we weren't in high school!  "Young looks young!" one of the women explained when we asked if we looked that young.  The women I worked with were older, African-American women who dedicated a few hours a week to keep Manna  House running.  They were great fun to work with, joking with us and each other.  They called one of their friends "Bread Lady" and kept calling for her when she wasn't fast enough getting us new bread.  And another asked her friend, "Could you loan me twenty dollars?  I'll pay you back the 12th of Never."   For them, this was a daily event.  They didn't volunteer to get service hours or certification, and they weren't wealthy or particularly "magnanimous."  They were just giving back to their community because they should.

We were very rushed making sandwiches. Miss Fran, who runs Manna House, wanted to open early because it was very hot outside and the people who had been waiting outside (hours early), especially the elderly, were beginning to feel faint.  She led us in a quick prayer over the good, and then the train of people came in.  They first went through a room of produce and eggs, and then came through the sandwich, bagel, and dessert room.  At the end of the line was a small clothes rack where they could buy hand-me-down clothes.

Eventually, I was put on the sandwich distribution line.  At first, I was very excited to be there because I had been wanting to actually interact with people the whole trip, but it quickly became disheartening.  Most were appreciative of the sandwiches, but there were several who would get very upset when we enforced the rules on rationing.  Miss Dorothy, who may not own Manna House, but she certainly is the boss, makes rules about how much food people can take per person per family.  These rules are not to be broken.  Manna House is open four hours a day, and hundreds of people flood in all day long.  If they gave everything away early, there would be nothing left for the last half of the line.  I understood that, but how can you say no to someone who just wants an extra sandwich and obviously needs it? 

One situation that particularly got to me was an old, African-American woman who wanted an egg salad sandwich for herself and a bologna sandwich for her husband.  The sandwiches are packaged in twos, and since there were only two of them, she could only have one package of bologna OR one package of egg salad.  She was very upset that she had to choose between her favorite or her husband's favorite.  Just as I was struggling to convince her to move on, an old, African-American man came up behind her and said "What do you want?" and she said "An egg salad sandwich, but she says only one per person" and he turned to me and said very politely, "I'll have an egg salad sandwich please."  At that point, I had no official way of verifying whether they were, in fact, from the same family or strangers, but tme smile on her face and the love in his eyes when he handed her his egg salad sandwiches told me they were husband and wife still deeply in love.

Over in the produce room, people were allowed to take as much as they wanted because of a spontaneous donation of $20,000 the day before, but much of the produce was already going bad.  These people took it anyway because they had no other option.  We're so lucky to be able to choose not only freshness, but between namebrands at the grocery store.  These people just take what they can get.

Many of them were Mexican workers.  Many were impoverished white or African-American citizens.  But there were also a lot of older people, some of them with fancy phones and bluetooth technology, who had suddenly taken in three grandchildren or had suddenly ran out of retirement money.  They had worked hard and planned ahead, but their savings just weren't enough.  And with unexpected events, like taking in grandchildren and the economy crashing, there was no way they could have foreseen how their retirement would dwindle away.  They're forced to supplement their groceries with donations from Manna House, just to keep everyone fed.

One of CASA's missions is to provide healthy, fresh, organic food to the elderly because it keeps them healthy and out of the hospital.  Some of the chemicals from non-organic produce conflicts with medications.  I can only imagine the complications involved in eating not only non-organic produce, but also rotting produce in old age.  Just at the point they are most vulnerable physically, impoverished elderly are forced to consume unhealthy food to survive.  Happy as I was to feed them, I wish there was a way we could do more.

Ciao for now.

A Woman with a Blower: Day One at CASA

After 13 hours on the road, WAY too many miles of Missouri, and a few desperate hours of sleep on deflated air mattress, the CASA girls began our work in the CASA Community Garden of Huntsville, Alabama at 7:30am this morning.

CASA stands for Care Assurance Systems for the Aging and Homebound.  It's a program in Madison County, Alabama that provides services for the elderly and homebound, who are unable or unwilling to leave their homes for hospitals and/or assisted living facilities and retirement homes. These are people who have aged and find nursing homes outside their price range, or people who need a little help, but refuse to give up their independence.  CASA helps them all by delivering meals, installing wheel chair ramps and fall prevention systems, and doing household chores, among other things.  I chose to volunteer here as a crash course in working with/for the elderly as a part of my senior thesis project (more to come later!).

Today was a bit different than we were expecting...This week we won't be working much with the elderly.  We'll be cleaning up and dressing up the CASA Community Garden for their garden party fundraiser.  Noble work, but a bit removed from social interaction, and VERY difficult.

This garden is not your typical flower garden.  Located near the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, the CASA Community Garden is an organic plot built on top of an old parking lot.  You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but not too far underneath that fertile soil is a gravel pavement.  The garden is completely run and funded by volunteers, and there is no government money involved.  Yet despire its lack of resources, the garden produces 8,000 pounds of organic produce a year to supplement seniors' grocery bills and get them healthy food for free. 

We worked with Lee and Karen today, both volunteers and avid gardeners.  Lee is a landscaper who specializes in edible landscapes, and Karen just likes to garden.  Lee had us moving metal cages, composting, fertilizing potato plants, putting down wood chips, pulling weeds, and picking up trash all morning.  Karen got us planting peppers, harvesting onions, pulling more weeds in the afternoon.  All of this in the Alabama heat...from 8am to 5pm.

It was about the point that I was standing alone on a pile of moldy wood chips with a pitchfork and a wheelbarrow that I thought to myself, "What the heck does this have to do with aging?" and I thought of cop-out answers like, "I'm helping them indirectly," "Exercise and vegetables are good for everyone to age better," and "This is how people get leathery skin and hunched backs."  But hours later, when I was using a leaf blower to clear woodchips off the path and Karen said to me with a twinkle in her eye, "There's something beautiful about a woman with blower," that I realized, I wasn't just helping old people, they were helping me.  Did I mention Karen's 70?  She's 70.  And Larry is in 60s at least.  Both were roaming about the garden doing hard labor like they were pros.  And they thought we were the disabled ones, being city girls who didn't know how to cut the green ends off of onions, let alone compost or grow vegetables organically.  And both were so funny and upbeat, you'd neverknow they were at the later end of life.  In fact, Karen spoke of visiting "old people" at the nursing home like they were decades older than she was.  Neither seem to have noticed that they, too, could be CASA clients.

I look forward to working more with Lee and Karen.  They defy all aging stereotypes, both psychologically and physically.  I want to know about their lifestyles and how they came to be thriving at this later moment in their lives.  I want to know about their plans for the future, and how they view their less abled peers.  But mostly, I'm just excited to hang out with them.  When we're working together for a good cause, the age gap really doesn't matter.

Ciao for now. 

Huntsville, AL: Team CASA, Day 3

It’s the third day of our journey in Huntsville, AL, and we’ve had a new experience: Manna House.  After another hard-worked morning in the CASA garden, our group is off to a unique non-profit organization.  Manna House is a food kitchen that provides free produce, canned goods, sandwiches, and snacks to those in need in local neighborhoods.  While anyone is able to benefit from the food Manna House provides, it is clear that only those in need utilize its services.  This is because the food given to Manna House is entirely by donation, and usually ends up being the expired or unwanted leftovers from local grocers.  In any case, Team CASA was in for a total 360 perspective change. In the beginning, it wasn’t so different from the community garden. Still working with food not people, we separated packaged goods into individual baggies and made sandwiches.  However, the atmosphere was completely different, and as soon as food distribution began, we could see we were in for a lesson in American poverty.

Manna House does not open for food distribution until four in the afternoon most days, and runs until seven at night.  However, people begin lining up outside waiting to get food as early as eleven in the morning or noon.  On this particular day, Fran—the amazing woman who runs Manna House—made an executive decision to open to food distribution an hour earlier than usual because it was so hot outside the people waiting to come in were beginning to get sick from the heat.  As the people piled into the small factory-like building, I witnessed something that will forever stay in my memory: people and children of all ages and sizes, most dressed nicely enough that I would never guess their economic situation, picking over expired goods and over ripened, or half-rotten, produce.  The most touching part? They were so appreciative of the selection of food they received. 

It was such a grounding experience to see first hand the poverty that takes place right under our noses. I had never even thought about how lucky I am to be able to walk into a grocery store and buy a package of fresh strawberries or a loaf of bread.  While I worry about eating healthy, natural foods, there are millions of people, right here in America, who worry about eating at all.  And Team CASA got a small dose of that unfortunate population.  

One of the men in the line was wearing an old army uniform. Out of all the children, women, and men, seeing this one soldier touched me the most.  The fact that even in America, the land of privilege and freedom, a man who served his country could be left in such poverty floored me. 

As I helped serve these people, I got to talking to the man next to me, who turned out to be a retired engineer for NASA. He told me all about Huntsville’s prominent involvement with NASA and everything Space-related.  It was really interesting to find out that in the state of Alabama, Huntsville is one of the best educated and caring for its community, as well as deeply involved with all occupations science-related.  I asked several of the volunteers at Manna House why, if Huntsville is so caring and so highly involved with the sciences, there was such a high number of those in poverty and homeless.  Every reply was the same: “That’s a good question.” 

Over all Manna House turned out to be a totally different experience from the CASA community garden that Team CASA has become accustomed too.  From the Home-bound to the Homeless, and from the aging and health-food concerned, to the poverty-stricken and food-less, it has been an intense learning experience, and we are all sure that it will only continue from here.  Once again the people have been so appreciative of all of our help, and that, in the end has been the most rewarding experience of all.

Huntsville, AL: Day 2 on the CASA Adventure!

We woke with a groggy start at the brisk time of six thirty in the morning. After a goodnight’s sleep and almost no sleep the night before, it was a challenge to leave our cozy air mattresses. But, after a few groans, we each rolled out of bed and began our day.  Unsure of what today’s tasks would include, we anxiously arrived out our destination: the CASA community garden.  Greeted by two lovely southern ladies, we were briefed on the day’s tasks, our week-long itinerary, and the purpose of CASA and its garden.  CASA, or Care Assurance System for the Aging and the homebound, is a wonderful organization that provides several services to citizens of Madison County in Alabama, which includes not only Huntsville, but several other cities and towns as well. It is one of the largest counties in the entire state, and the organization is run completely on donation and volunteer work.  They do not use government money, but provide free services to thousands of senior citizens and people who need living assistance.  Besides building and maintaining wheelchair ramps for clients all over the county, one of CASA’s biggest projects and services it provides is a community garden, where volunteers (particularly Lee, a gardener extraordinaire and professional edible landscaper, and Karen, a 70 year-old southern lady with the most polite personality and lots of gumption (“Y’all come back now, ya hear?” is a phrase she uses often)) grow about 8,000-9,000lbs of organically grown produce every year, which is then distributed to CASA homebound clients so that they have the opportunity to eat healthier while cutting down on their food bills.

After our debriefing, we were thrown into the trusty hands of Lee, a happy southern gentleman who put us straight to work. Four tough hours in the garden included potato planting, mulching, composting, rearranging, trash pick-up, and weeding. After a glorious hour of lunch, (a simple turkey sandwich has never tasted so good) it was back to the garden for another four hours of weeding, planting, mulching, and onion cutting.  At one point, Karen pulled me aside:

                “Have you seen our refrigerator?” she asked.

Thinking she was talking about the unattractive dirt-monster standing right behind her, I was a bit confused, but I went along with it.

                “No.” I said.

                “Well then, follow me!” she said.

To my slowly dying surprise, she led me to a shed near the fence on the North side of the garden.  Apparently Lowe’s had donated a discontinued shed to CASA, which happens to have a very talented refrigeration expert on the volunteer staff, who decked the shed out with an air conditioner so that those taking care of the garden can simply store produce there until it is ready to be picked up.  According to Karen, for most of the delivery volunteers, it’s like going grocery shopping for their clients, only better, because they don’t have to pay!  This was probably the coolest aspect of my day.  It is incredible how much this one organization can do for so many people through the power of other’s generosity and service.  I even ventured to ask Karen how much money went into the garden—apparently a LOT, since CASA has to pay for water and electricity year-round in order to keep their plot available to them through the city, along with paying for the seeds and other gardening tools they need.  According to Lee, though, the garden produces enough food that if it were to sell it (since the food is grown organically) the amount of produce they provide each year would be enough to cover their expenses and still make a pretty hefty profit.  Which is all the more reason CASA is such an awesome organization to be working for.

Finally we called it a day after eight total hours running around in the dirt. Our wonderful church facilities came with a kitchen, complete with utensils, dinnerware, and cooking pots, so Jenny and I used our incredible chef powers to make the group spaghetti; a delicious way to end the day.  Afterwards, we ventured to Starbucks to catch up on tweets, facebook, e-mails, and blogs, and of course, upload our adorable photos of the trip so far.  Being the smallest group may mean we are at a bit of a disadvantage for the Alternative Breaks PR game, but I think we are already bonding like family!  

-Tasha Cerny CASA Summer Alternative Break, 2012

Give Kids the World Day 2

Yesterday morning we headed back to Give Kids the World. A few of us helped in the Castle of Miracles while I went with the rest of us that worked at the horse and pony ride. My job was to be a "side walker." I walked alongside the horse, holding onto the saddle and helping the kids stay balanced.  This job allowed us to talk to the kids one-on-one as we walked with the horse. Mostly we talked about what parks they had been to, who their favorite princess was and what the rest of their plans were for the day.  A lot of kids had never been on a horse before, and the best part was seeing their faces light up as soon as the horse started moving.  Seeing the parents' reactions was great as well.  Many of them were recording the whole thing or snapping pictures left and right.  Most all of the parents were smiling ear to ear just from seeing their child having a good time.  The unconditional love these parents show is just amazing.  You can tell a lot of them are sacrificing quite a bit in order for their child to enjoy every day they can.

I think one of the more touching stories was one that happened to a student in our group on the first day. The student, Adam, was talking with a mother. She said she really loved this place (Give Kids the World) not because of all the stuff they were given or all the activities that they have, but because her child wasn't being looked at funny by any of the workers. The kids are treated like the kids that they are, and they're not stared at, and that meant a lot to this mother. I'm sure it means a lot to a lot of the parents and families there as well. To be a part of something like this that means so much to so many families is really amazing to me. It seems that all of the volunteer staff really loves what they're doing as well, and that makes a world of difference.

Long story short, I love this place, and I love meeting each of the kids and their families. Tonight is Christmas! In fact, every Thursday night at Give Kids the World is Christmas! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.