Today I went down to Boston with Mrs. Bergeron (mother of Maddy '14), Mrs. Bourque (mother of Kasie '14), Christie Cole '13, Erica Fowler '13, Kelleigh Murtagh '13, Kasie Bourque '14, Maddy Bergeron '14, and Meghan Barker '14 for Christmas in the City.
Christmas in the City is an annual Christmas party for homeless children in the city of Boston. It is 100% run by volunteers but is one of the biggest events in the city during this time of year. This year's event was held at the massive convention center in South Boston (fun fact - I was on the floor of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1997 as an intern when they voted to build the convention center). They initially asked us to work outside but it was quite cold and none of us had hats, gloves, etc. so we were greeters as the kids and families came into the party.
The children and families are bused in from homeless shelters from all over Boston and are led into a giant hall that was decorated to the nines and had live music. Here they all ate lunch and danced to the music. Next to this hall was another massive one with bouncy houses, rides, etc. that the kids would go into after lunch. Folks began arriving at 11:30am and so we lined up outside the hall and clapped and high fived the kids as they came in. They were so happy and excited and seeing the joy on their little innocent faces brought tears to my eyes (I am a sucker when it comes to little kids).
It took well over an hour to clap and greet all the kids. Our students were so enthusiastic and fired up. It was so much fun but also sad as it was a stark reminder about the homelessness problem in our nation. The cycle of poverty being what it is, you can't help but wonder if these kids will ever have a chance in life or will they be bringing their children to this party in 20-30 years? Pray God no.
We took some time to walk around the party and then headed out around 1pm. Our students were wonderful and want to make this an annual thing for Trinity. Fine by me!
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