Habitat hosts Head Start kids

Heidi Schray distributes scrip money to children at Habitat for Humanity's Thrift Store in Sisters. photo by Jim Mitchell Habitat for Humanity was busy last week.

The organization hosted two new home blessings and complimentary gift buying for 18 Head Start and 23 elementary school children -- all in one day.

The day started with a blessing of the Harris and Shepardson homes, numbers 27 and 28 for Sisters Habitat (see related stories, pages 7 and 17). After snacks, prayers, and presentations, the Habitat focus moved to the Thrift Store, where Robin Thomas arrived with a SOAR busload of Head Start children.

Each of the 18 Head Starters was given an envelope containing scrip money and assigned to a volunteer adult. Each adult had been given family information to help the youngsters make "buying" decisions. It was, at times, hard to tell who was leading whom around the store. The adult volunteers steered the children toward gifts for their family, but invariably the children led the way to the toy section.

After the children had selected and "paid" for their gifts, they were taken to the back room for a gift-wrapping session complete with cookies and hot chocolate. The gifts were bagged for transport home and, before they re-boarded their bus, they were visited by Santa Claus. After a short respite, 23 elementary school students arrived with their families to repeat the process. The students had been selected with the assistance of the Sisters office of Family Access Network (FAN). Some were children of Habitat homeowners.

The elementary students came in family units. Most included parents and siblings; some added grandparents.

According to organizer Heidi Schray, "The older kids were savvy about how they spent their money." She said they were generous and very polite. She noted that one 13-year-old went home with a new Christmas dress and shoes. Again, a wrapping session with treats was followed by a visit from Santa.