Glenwood Christmas at Kohls

by Dale Briggs, Director of Finance

The North Main campus of Gateway Church has been investing in the lives of students and staff at Jacobs Primary School and Glenwood Middle School since this campus opened.  The most recent activity occurred on Wednesday, December 13 when Gateway volunteers teamed with Glenwood staff for a student shopping trip to Kohl’s.  Thirty-eight students were identified by Glenwood staff as candidates to participate in this special outing.  The school bussed the students to Kohl’s and adults helped each student shop for clothes as a special Christmas gift for them.  While the church provided the financial support for this program, the greatest reward for me was to watch each child check out with their new clothes.  It struck me, as I observed the checkout process, that this exemplified a wonderful aspect of what it means to invest in the lives of others.   The genuine joy and concern the adults had for these students was obvious.  While the adults and students may have been strangers at the start of the shopping experience, they were friends by the time it ended.  I must also compliment the employees at Kohl’s.  Each student was greeted warmly as he or she was asked about their shopping experience.  There were no Happy Holiday greetings to these students, each was sent on his/her way with a wish for a very Merry Christmas. This night will definitely be one of my highlights of the Christmas celebration this year.

As a side note, it is interesting to me to see the cash register tape for this shopping trip.  It measures over 11 feet in length.  That is one simple way to measure the evening’s success. However, every time I look at the tape, I am reminded that each line item has a very special meaning to a student who’s Christmas season was made a little brighter.