As a child, my mom and I were very poor.  Living in a small apartment with no car and no money.  Even with mom working two jobs, we barely paid the bills every month.  One year, when I was 12, we had a few unexpected medical bills just before Christmas.  Mom sat me down with tears in her eyes and explained that there just wasn’t any money for Christmas this year.  I could tell that this broke her heart and I hugged her and said that it was ok.  Mom and I were very active in our local church.  We did readings, she was a Catechism teacher and I was an Alter boy and head of our youth group.  A few days before Christmas, to my surprise, our doorbell rang and mom told me to go answer it.  When I opened the door, there were a line of people from my church standing outside my door, each with a gift in their hand.  They didn’t say a word, just walked into our apartment and each laid a gift under our makeshift Christmas tree and left. 

 

I always vowed that when I became successful, I would give back and assist those in need in the same way my church helped my mom and me.  I’ll never forget our first Secret Santa family that we brought the joy of Christmas to…..Ironically, a single mom working two jobs with no car, living in an undersized apartment, active in her church and unable to make ends meet.  God couldn’t have given me a clearer message that this was his mission for me.  From that moment eight years ago, we have grown Secret Santa Over Atlanta from a single family to now supporting over 50 children a year and still growing. 

 

We look forward to transforming our basement into Santa’s Workshop again this year as we engage our entire family to wrap presents and share the magic of the season with children and families all over Atlanta.

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Sincerely,

David Lewgood

Owner/President