Heroes spread Christmas cheer on a rainy day

Rain didn’t dampen the holiday spirit in St. Cloud on Saturday. Almost 500 children had their Christmas wish list filled at Christmas for Kids, an event organized by A Hero for Kids. Dozens of volunteers cheerfully braved the rain, bringing bags of gifts and bicycles out to cars filled with the eager faces of children and their parents.

“It is the culmination of about two-and-a-half months worth of early mornings, late nights, packing and picking up,” said John Kalish, founder of the all-volunteer charity. “If you look at the reaction of the families, the parents who up until this wondered how they were going to make Christmas happen for their kids, it’s just a relief for the families that otherwise wouldn’t have it. A lot of parents depend on this every year. It’s a heartwarming event when you’re standing there directing traffic and people are saying ‘Thank you so much.”

Wish lists were provided to the organization by the Osceola County School District, who identified families in need. “We’ve been working for about 10 weeks fulfilling the lists with the help of the community,” Kalish said. “We’ve got several company sponsors and local vendors helping out. Many had Angel Trees in their business to help fulfill all the lists, along with individual donations and donation boxes.”

This is the sixth year of the program. Normally held in the Staples parking lot, the event was moved to the Canoe Crook Elementary School due to the weather. The school volunteered to allow them to use the gym as a staging area and allow for pick up in cars under a covered walkway usually used for student pick up, protecting the volunteers and the gifts from the rain.

Kalish, usually known for dressing up as Batman at these events, Saturday wore a hat and a rain slicker due to the weather. He credited the success of the program to a large army of volunteers, saying the charity started as and remains “a little non-profit that we literally operate out of our home, with nobody getting paid.”

“Now you see the families that volunteer with us bringing their kids out to help. It’s like I did with my kids. My kids saw that even though we had, there were a lot that didn’t have. You keep generations of service going by giving a helping hand. It’s huge,” he said.

The charity’s efforts don’t stop with Christmas. Jan. 20 will be the group’s fifth annual Real Heroes Don’t Wear Capes Award gala, which recognizes local heroes “who never get recognized” – police, firefighters, teachers.

“This year’s theme will be Beauty and the Beast. Last year’s theme was Roaring 20’s murder mystery. I got to dress in a zoot suit for that one,’ Kalish joked. “I don’t know what I’m dressing up as this year.  It’s always a surprise. Anything for the kids.”