Cause #21 BONUS – Hmong Youth and Parents United December 21, 2009
Posted by 20causes20days in Causes, Charities, Volunteer.trackback
One of the main goals of this 20 causes, 20 days project is for me to work outside of my comfort zone. In my opinion, there’s no better way for me to experience personal growth than to do things that I’ve never done before, to do things that give me butterflies in my stomach.
This was definitely one of those times. My friend Rashell of Invitations Ink invited me to help a youth group with which a friend of hers volunteers, called Hmong Youth & Parents United (HYPU).
HYPU was started in January 2005 by a group of Hmong parents concerned about the future of their children. This was a result of the many concerns brought forth regarding youth gangs and violence, dropouts, teenage pregnancy, achievement gaps, and generational gaps.
Their goal is to build communication and relationship within Hmong families and to provide parents the training and information needed to access and address the schools.
They provide gifts for the kids every Christmas season, and today my role was to dress up as Santa and provide the gifts to the boys and girls.
For the record, this was not only stepping outside of my comfort zone, it was smashing through the barrier with the force of an atomic bomb.
I had never dressed up as Santa before, nor had I had any real experience interacting with members of the Hmong community.
On top of sporting the suit among dozens of kids aged 2-18, it was a new and relatively intimidating experience to be the person in the room with all eyes on me.
With all those ‘out of the comfort zone’ aspects ahead of me, I nonetheless fought the butterflies and attacked this role with aplomb.
I arrived and met Rashell and her friend Mally, and we waited in the classroom with all the gifts as the HYPU families entered the multi-purpose room. Mally had worked hard to organize this portion of the Christmas gift giving, and she did all the shopping for the gifts that the kids indicated they wanted for Christmas. Her, Rashell and a couple others had spent an evening wrapping all the gifts a couple nights before.
I looked quite stellar in the Santa suit, I must say. Though, this was Santa 2009, as there was no beard included in the suit bag. But despite my worst fears of ruthless kids calling me out for not really being Santa, I forged ahead. The show must go on, beard or not.
Once we got the okay, I rolled the big wagon of gifts out to the side door of the multi-purpose room and waited for the director Steven’s introduction.
I rolled the cart into the big room and, parents and kids included, there were probably sixty people in the room. The Christmas tree was in the middle, with the school lunch tables circled around the tree.
HYPU Director Vince Xiong had set up a tiny chair for me to sit in, and I wheeled the wagon around in a full circle, accompanied by a few ‘Ho Ho Ho’s.
Once the room quieted, I addressed the beard situation by announcing that Santa had shaved this morning, a statement which was met with laughter and applause. I’d started off on the right foot, and the hard part was now over.
Steven began reading off the names on each gift, and that child would come up and grab their gift. The kid would then come sit on Santa’s knee for pictures. The first kid was pretty hesitant, but once the cameras flashed, the floodgates opened.
Santa and friend
Girls and boys, young and old. Every kid got a gift and a picture on Santa’s knee. Even the older (16-18) kids got involved. It was a cool moment to see the smiles on the kids’ faces as they got a picture with Santa.
Santa and friend
The time elapsed was pretty quick – 30 minutes or so – but it was such an amazing time.
I remember the joys of being young and seeing Santa ‘live’ and in person. Today it was truly an honor to be on the other side of that with the great kids of HYPU.
Santa and friend
Not only were the kids and adults of HYPU appreciative that I took my time and volunteered to play Santa, but at the same time I felt so great that I took the risk to do something that I’d never done before and had a great time succeeding at it.
The whole group and Santa
Working outside of the comfort zone is a commonly used term. But actually doing that is a completely different story. Today, I did that, and realized once again the absolute benefits of doing so.
Next time the butterflies strike you and you may be nervous about trying something new, attack them and know that you’ll feel an amazing sense of accomplishment and personal growth for doing so.
Hmong Youth and Parents United
916.606.0760
Please leave a comment below. Thanks!
Erik! You are fearless! I have a couple of jabs about your santa get-up, but I’ll leave those for later.
lol! Good for you. Ya coulda used a mustache, but hey, you did it anyway. Fearless you are.
Thank you so much for being Santa–the kids really enjoyed having you there. And HELLO, you weren’t the only white person in the room but yes all eyes were on you!!! Best feeling ever knowing that our small efforts made a huge difference. Special thanks to Mally for making all this happen. Oh and we can’t forget about all our amazing friends who donated their time and/or money to this great event–thank you!
What a difference a few hours in a day can make…Thank you for being the change agents that you are, instilling and teaching the ideals of giving. You all came with great attitudes, smiles, and warmth. This day will stay with us, and I am hopeful that it will also stay with you. Any act of kindness is a gift that will never go unnoticed.
Thank you for being a blessing.
Way to go! I am so proud of you- this has been an amazing journey, I am sure. It’s been amazing to watch! Congrats and I can’t wait to see what else you bring to light.
Thanks Erik for all your HOHOHOs. It was fun and great to see all the smiles on those kids. Thanks to all who supported the effort.
A gigantic KUDOs to you and your friends for making this the best gift this year. Thank you for everything.
Special thanks for bringing such a blessing and joy to our children and families of HYPU. You’ve made history and etched a mark on the hearts and minds of those that were present. As you exited, many children were asking if you were coming back next year. Parents and children are still talking about you (Santa), and I believe they will remember this for years to come. Thank you so much…
Live long and be the influence.
Nice! Sounds like it was another successful year. Mally and Rashell your hard work paid off. Erik you have touched many people (and animals) over the last few weeks and you will continue to inspire people as they read what you’ve been able to accomplish in such little time. Good job!