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14 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2015 | COMMUNITY NEWS During the Winter Wish program you, the residents of Four Seasons took a total of 274 tags to buy gifts of clothes and toys for some of the less fortunate children of Beaumont. You went way beyond the call of duty to help those who needed it this time of year. This year there was a large increase in the number of families that needed help, a total of 271. This total included 827 children of all ages who woke up Christmas morning to find gifts under the tree, something that might not have happened without the help of people like you. Not only did you help with clothes and toys but also in the amount of food you donated that goes along with these gifts. Each family, depending on size, received one or two bags of food along with a grocery gift card to help cover the cost of a main dish for Christmas dinner. There are a number of people who work tirelessly to keep this program going. They start working in September talking to different clubs and organization to gather donations and to all the different schools to get them started gathering the names of the children. Winter Wish takes only names that have been recommended by the schools and teachers. The real work starts in November when the tags are given out to local businesses for residents to pick their tags, buy, wrap and return their gift to the place where they got them. These people then check and double check to make sure that every child receives at least two gifts. If a tag is not taken they have shoppers who take those tags and buy the gifts. They are then wrapped and ready for distribution day. No child is left without two gifts. So thank you, the wonderful people who run the Winter Wish program and thank you, the most generous people of Beaumont. ~ Melody Seewoster Residents Help Kids at Christmas Winter Wish volunteers sort through the many donations I was talking to a lady the other day and was distressed when she told me how hard it was to meet and feel comfortable with people here at Four Seasons. Frankly I was shocked since I find most people here to be very friendly. She was wondering if she made a mistake in moving here. "I've tried going to a number of events and activities" she told me and while people were polite they tended to ignore her after the first hello. I told her to keep trying. I think the problem here is that we get so comfortable in our own little groups we forget what it is like to move into a completely new community and, in this lady's case clear across the country. I remember moving here, not knowing a soul and wondering what I was going to do. Thank goodness the Lodge opened after several months and I started going up there. The Bistro opened and people were coming to eat. I started joining clubs and got on some committees and in that way I met people, wonderful, fun, kind people and I was glad I made the move. That was nine years ago. Things are a little harder now. I told this lady to keep trying, join some clubs, play cards, come up and have lunch or dinner and maybe sit in on a couple of committee meetings to find out what things are all about. We have a lot of new people moving in here and we are glad to have them. If you see someone you don't recognize stop and say hello, invite them to join you for lunch or to attend an event with you. STOP and remember what it was like when you first came here. Let new people know we really are nice, friendly and glad they moved here. ~ Melody Seewoster Reach Out and Meet Someone New This Year 909-910-6074 Simply the best overhead storage system available! Garage Storage + Plus To find out how we can help you unclutter your garage Call Now! Authorized Tuffrax Dealer Unclutter your Garage! With TUFFRAX heavy duty overhead storage system

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