Kiwanis project spreads holiday cheer

Members of the Gorham High School Key Club help sort and
wrap gifts for Operation Holiday Cheer.

Marc Badeau has been as busy as a holiday elf the past several months. It’s not easy gathering, wrapping and shipping toys to almost 16,000 children—but that’s exactly what this certified public accountant has been doing, with a lot of help from his friends.

Badeau is president of the Kiwanis Club of Gorham, Maine, and chairman of Operation Holiday Cheer, a project to help ensure all children of military parents in New England receive a gift for the holiday. The project was a hit in 2007, with about 8,000 gifts shipped to kids across Maine. This year, Badeau says, the goal was to reach even more—including families in New York.

“We have 15-16,000 children registered this year,” he says, noting there are about 65,000 military family children throughout New England and New York. “It’s been unbelievable. There is no sleep from about 5 in the morning till about 2 in the morning.”

That’s a normal schedule for any holiday elf, but Badeau doesn’t claim to wear bells and felt shoes. And there’s no magic to speak of. If there were, he and countless volunteers would have very little trouble coming up with the approximate US$500,000 it takes to reach all the children registered this year.

But it’s all worth it. Badeau isn’t a military dad. But he does know what it’s like to be away from family.

 “I used to spend a lot of time at the office, busy, and couldn’t be there for my kids,” Badeau says. “I couldn’t imagine what these military kids go through when a parent goes away. Oftentimes, they think the parents leave because of something they did. We figured we really need to do something. These kids are the unsung heroes.”

Jack Savastano, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Manomet-Cedarville in Massachusetts, is chairman of Operation Holiday Cheer in Massachusetts. He says the program is really like no other.

“As far as we know, no one has ever done anything like this before, acknowledged and thanked children of military families for the personal sacrifices they endure,” Savastano says. “This has nothing to do with one’s feelings for or against war or any other military actions. This is to thank the children for all the worry they go through—wondering if a parent will be called up for active service, or if one on active duty will get injured or killed while serving. This is something these children live with 24/7.”

Funds raised in each state are used to provide top-quality gifts to military children ages 16 and younger in that state, Badeau says. Each gift-wrapped item includes a letter of appreciation, a yellow ribbon, and a list of each state’s sponsors.

“I’ve been amazed by the show of support,” Badeau says. “We’ve had a huge number of people come out for our wrapping parties, and we have some major donors who have signed on.”

A few of those donors: the National Football League’s New York Giants, Walmart, Dunkin Donuts, Time Warner Cable and the National Hockey League.

“This is such a great opportunity for recruitment,” Badeau notes. It’s also proved to be a great way to get Kiwanians working with youth in the community. The Gorham High School Key Club members have shown great interest in helping with Operation Holiday Cheer, with many members coming out on cold nights for wrapping parties.

“This program will have a significant impact on the lives of a large number of children who have always suffered in silence and asked for nothing,” says Jason Badeau, Gorham High School Key Club chairman of Operation Holiday Cheer, and son of Marc Badeau. “We raised more than US$8,000 for this tremendous project, and hope to speak at the New England Key Club convention to try and convince other Key Clubs to participate next year.”

Parents and children who have received gifts have been absolutely thrilled.

“There was one little girl who received a Barbie doll,” Badeau says. “That Barbie doll was a favorite gift that year, not because it’s a Barbie, but because of where it came from.

“We also went out to Rockport recently for a deployment. Santa was there, and we took gifts. We got a standing ovation. It’s a cool thing. The parents tell us, ‘You’re helping us with our kids.’”

Operation Holiday Cheer shipped its last gifts of the year on December 15. But that’s not the end of this project. The goal, Badeau says, is to expand into every state.

“Having served in Vietnam, I think that showing patriotism and support of our military children by helping make their holiday season a little brighter while their mom or dad is far away serving their country while being in harm’s way is wonderful,” says Kiwanis International President Don Canaday. “This is a great Kiwanis project.”