“I’ve never tried to make this about money,” says Gwen, “I wasn’t looking for anything from our families. I just wanted them to do well with their kids and have a good life. If we could help them by giving them skills, job training, work experience, or the GED program we did that. If we could help them get housing, we did that. It was all about helping families.”
I can attest to Gwen’s character. Her compassion and desire is real. This year she wasn’t sure she would have a Thanksgiving but spent all her time making sure the struggling families in her community did.
Gwen took me on a tour of her community center and I was amazed at all she was able to fit in her house and the amount of time and thought she has put into everything she does. She has had an incredible team of teachers and volunteers to help over the years and Gwen is always quick to let people know she didn’t do this alone. The house has gotten a little worn over the last couple of years as she’s had to let staff go but it is clearly full of love.
After going through the numbers with Gwen, it came down to $2400.00. That’s all she needs to keep her home. I wanted to write a check right then and wished with all my heart I had the funds to do so. But I knew there must be something I could do. Then the idea came to me. The yard was full of leaves and there was no one to rake them. So I drove home, piled my family and a bunch of rakes in the van and we spent two wonderful hours raking and bagging the leaves at Safe Haven Community Center.
As we raked the leaves my son noticed one of the windows was broken and suggested one of our friends who installs windows might be able to fix it. Suddenly the end of “It’s A Wonderful Life” came to my mind, where everyone in Bedford Falls comes to the aid and support of George Baily who had given so much to his community. What if we did that? Painters, carpenters, contractors, people from all over the community pitching in to give back to Gwendolyn Easter, a woman who has given so much to her community and never expected anything in return.
This year our family bought gifts for veterans in a homeless shelter, dropped coins in red buckets all over Omaha and adopted a child on an angel tree. They were all great opportunities to share the power of Christmas. But the most significant thing we did was spend a cold winter day raking the leaves of an amazing woman’s house and wishing we could do more.