By Jessica Easthope
This story is about a 10-dollar bill and a paper trail that starts at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy and ends on Christmas morning, underneath a tree.
The bill was brought to school by six-year old Samuel Ortiz-Bran. It was his very own to spend.
“We’ll give them money and they can buy the toys because it makes the kid happy and they can have a good Christmas also,” said Samuel.
Samuel’s first grade class is raising money for the Tablet’s Bright Christmas campaign. Last year he opened plenty of toys under his own tree, and his wish list is long again this year.
“A Mario cart, a real dog, a cat, five cats and a LOL set, that’s everything,” he said.
But he knows there are kids who have a lot less than he does, he want his bill to be spent buying toys for them.
“The children that don’t have toys, we’ll give them the money and they’ll buy the toys, they didn’t have toys and God didn’t have the chance to give them money and so we’ll give them money,” he said.
Samuel made sure his bill was tucked in tight among others like it and some change in the donation box on his teacher, Mrs. Ray’s desk.
“When I explained to them that there are some children who believe it or not wake up on Christmas with nothing they were shocked and they wanted to help,” Ray said.
The students wrote letters to the Tablet to make sure their money was spent exactly the way the want. It’s a hope that’s as real as Christmas magic, the kind the Tablet makes possible every year.
“It’s beyond something I can explain, to see them so excited,” Ray said. “What can I say? It’s a beautiful thing.”