7-year-old’s birthday wish is to donate her toys to family shelter
When children enter the Cedar Valley Friends of the Family shelter, it’s because their world has been turned upside down.
Little Katie Wichman has set out to help right things a bit. The Waverly first-grader, who turns 7 today, has decided to give all of her birthday presents to children at the shelter.
“We were driving home one day and talking about what she wanted for her birthday,” said Katie’s mom, Kelli. “Out of the blue she said she wanted to give toys to other kids.”
Kelli let the idea rest for a couple of days until Katie brought it up again.
“We explained to her what that meant, that whatever was brought to her birthday party she would give away,” Kelli said. “She said, ‘I would give away all my toys to another little girl if I could.’”
Her parents say they were pleasantly surprised.
“It’s very unusual, especially for a child who wants everything when we go to Wal-Mart,” joked Katie’s dad, Eddie.
Katie and her 3-year-old sister Kennedy have no shortage of toys of their own, their parents say. A toy room in their home is brimming with toys. Then there are the toys that fill their bedrooms. They have no need for more, the Wichman’s say.
Katie has invited all of the girls from her class as well as family and friends to her party, which is themed “Pretty in Pink.” She’s asking guests to bring gifts that her family will deliver to the Cedar Valley Friends of the Family shelter.
“It really pulls at your heart strings,” said Marcie Sharp, the organization’s administrative services director.
Cedar Valley Friends of the Family is a private, nonprofit domestic violence and sexual assault prevention center. It serves families from nine Northeast Iowa counties, and offers a 14-bed safe shelter to victims of domestic violence. It also provides services for the homeless.
For the fiscal year 2006-07, the shelter served 70 children ages 17 and younger who were using the safe house for the first time. On occasion, a child is forced to spend their birthday there.
“Sometimes moms can’t afford a gift when they leave the situation they are in, so (from donated toys) the mom will get the pick of whatever she wants for her child,” Sharp said.
Sharp said three other children have donated their birthday booty to the shelter, in the form of cash. Rather than asking for gifts, they asked party guests to bring money to benefit the shelter. Katie’s gifts will come in handy as Christmas approaches. They will fill the gap for families who arrive at the shelter in the few days before Christmas.
“It always amazes me how generous the children are,” sharp said. “It’s pretty remarkable that (Katie) would give up her gifts for someone she doesn’t even know.”
For Katie, it’s not remarkable at all. It’s simple logic. She gives up what she has plenty of to children who don’t. In fact, last year she donated her hair to Locks of Love, which provides wigs for children with cancer or other health issues that cause hair loss. Her reason for giving up her birthday gifts follows the same logic.
“Other people maybe don’t have enough toys,” she said.
This is interesting to me because my stepson took some tags off the angel tree at his school and bought presents for kids that were needy. He said it’s because he has a lot and they don’t have much. He’s also 8 years old. Awesome kid!