Four underprivileged Oakland County siblings will wake to find an eye-popping pile of presents stacked under the tree this Christmas, thanks to Santa and his special helpers at Vaughn Chiropractic.
For the past 25 years, the Vaughns have made it a Christmas tradition to ‘adopt? a less-fortunate local family through one of the area’s many social service agencies.
‘This is the giving season,? said Jacqueline Vaughn, who partners with her daughter Ronda Vaughn Marshall at the clinic on Sashabaw Road in Waterford. ‘I’d do this in the middle of July if I could, but people would think I was out of my mind.?
For the past several years, the mother, daughter and their staff have partnered with CARE House of Pontiac, decorating the office tree with a multitude of bulbs that each represent one item from the wish list of the adopted family.
Interested patients were asked to select a bulb, purchase the item and return the unwrapped gift by Friday.
‘The project has just grown and grown over the years,? she said, explaining that the clinic now offers a ‘free? day, when patients can pay for their chiropractic services with a gift or cash donation for the CARE House family. ‘Our patients are so generous, even in these hard times.?
CARE House, the Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County, is a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy, and intervention to child victims of abuse, as well as prevention programs to assist families before abuse occurs.
Last year, the organization had 21 families up for adoption. This year, the number jumped to 35.
The staff at Vaughn doesn’t know much about the family they adopted, except that it’s a tw0-parent home with four young children living somewhere in Oakland County.
So with four different types of wrapping paper ? one for each child, three girls and one boy, ages 8, 9, 11, and 12 ? the entire staff got busy making all the gifts festive.
‘I always wonder what their faces will look like when they see all those presents,? said Ronda Vaughn Marshall. ‘I know I won’t ever see them, or even know who they are, but I just like to think about how their eyes will light up.?
The list included items such as jeans, boots, coats, games, jewelry, hair ties, make-up and the popular Sponge Bob Square Pants movie.
‘We’re emphatic that they put down things that they need, such as coats, boots and blankets, but that they also put down things they want,? said Pat Rosen, CARE House executive director. ‘They’re children ? we want them to wish, and we want them to see that wish come true.?
In addition to fulfilling the family’s Christmas wishes, the staff at Vaughn Chiropractic also help stock the cupboards at CARE House with items like baby food, diapers, and paper products ? and this year, hopefully, a new vacuum.