'A Piece Of Magic:’ Oklahoma Nonprofit Helps Fulfill Holiday Wishes For Foster Children

Holiday wishes can come true through a person’s generosity. One Oklahoma nonprofit helps provide gifts to children in need. They say these gifts help welcome these children home. 

A person wouldn’t notice much driving by one downtown Oklahoma City warehouse. However, inside its doors, the spirit of giving is alive and well. “The people of Oklahoma are very, very generous,” said Lynne Roller, the executive director of Citizens Caring for Children. “We will serve more than fifteen hundred kids this year.” 

CCC cares for foster children throughout the year providing resources and necessities. Their holiday Joy for Kids effort provides gifts from community donations. “People care about them,” Roller said. 

There is a little magic inside the walls of that old warehouse on Main Street. That’s because the gifts inside will fulfill the wishes of these children. “That’s a great way to say it. I love that,” Roller said. “A piece of magic. Because it is.” 

Children fill out wish lists and donors grant them. “They are getting things they are excited to get because it was on their list,” Rollers said. 

Two of Roller's volunteers noticed a wish list from a teenager who needed a bike for work. “The two of them together went and purchased a bike,” Rollers said. 

Inside a foster child’s shoes -- their lives are like a road with no end -- bouncing from home to home. “Lots of them live in very difficult circumstances or experience situations that children should not have to experience,” Rollers said. “It is a lot to deal with at such a young age. Especially when often, you don’t even know why you’re there.” 

Roller loves children – that's the former teacher inside of her. She has a passion for the mission of her organization. “Children are to be valued and cared for,” Roller said. 

Of course, these are just toys on the outside – but inside they show someone listened, someone cared, and their wish came true.