High school Santa makes holiday wishes come true for young Central Ohio girl
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Perhaps one of the greatest gifts you can give this season is the gift of giving. And for one little girl in central Ohio, her Christmas is about to become a whole lot brighter.
The students at St. Francis DeSales High School host "Christmas in the Courtyard" every year. They put the event on for the kids at St. Stephen's Community House. This was their 25th year.
As tradition goes, one student dresses up as Santa to spread holiday cheer. This year, Kean Vansyckle had that honor.
"It's coming down to the end of the night and kids are getting ready to leave and this little girl runs up to me and she gives me a giant hug and she's got a giant note in her hand," Vansyckle said.
Little did he know that note would turn into one of the greatest gifts he could give and receive this year.
"She goes, Santa this is for you," Vansyckle said. "So, I sit there, and I open it, and I read it with her and it's her Christmas wish list and there's four things on it."
In bold writing, she had asked for a Barbie house, a toy kitchen, Barbies and art supplies. Instantly, Vansyckle said he knew what he had to do.
"I told her look under your tree Christmas night and I'm sure something will be there for you, so I went home, I'm like, 'Mom this is the perfect opportunity to represent DeSales and we have to go do this for her because this would be awesome,'" Vansyckle said.
So, that's exactly what they did. Vansyckle and his family set out to the store to fulfill her Christmas wishes.
DeSales campus minister Carolynn Heinmiller said their school's motto is faith, family and tradition.
"Our theme this year is 'eleos' which is Greek for mercy and live with kindness," Heinmiller said. "So, we strive to have a theme each year that isn't just a logo, it's not just a phrase, but it's actually something that we can live, and we can put in action."
Vansyckle is serving as a prime example of that.
"You just get a warm feeling in your heart especially around Christmas time, so being able to do this and go out and just give back to the community was an awesome feeling," Vansyckle said.
Vansyckle and his family ended up buying all the items on that little girl's list. She has four other siblings they also bought gifts for, so come Christmas morning there will be plenty of gifts for them to open under the tree.
"It's just really beautiful to see how giving back isn't seasonal," Heinmiller said. "This is something that our kids are doing year-round. It's something that our teams are doing."