Jack Heideman is a blessed boy. And during this Christmas season, his family wanted to make sure some other children felt blessed, too.
Jack, who turned 2 years old this past Thursday, was the recipient of a giant stocking filled with all kinds of goodies. He won the gift through a drawing at Wagner’s Store in Lonedell.
“We put Jack’s name in the drawing on Sunday (Dec. 16) and won it on Monday (Dec. 17),” his mother, Megan, said inside their Lonedell-area home late last week. “We were pretty excited about it.”
The stocking, which measures about 3 feet in height, was filled with dozens of toys, puzzles, games and candy. It easily stands taller than Jack.
“When I was wrapping his Christmas presents after we brought the stocking home, I was thinking that he didn’t need this extra stuff,” Megan Heideman said. “There are a lot of gifts in there.”
So, Megan said she had a talk with her son about sharing, helping others in need and how lucky he is.
“We talked about trying to help some others feel lucky, too,” Megan said. “So, we decided to donate it.”
Megan said she believes Jack understood what that meant.
“I think he knows what we’re doing,” she said. “He’s OK with it. He knows he’s getting other presents.”
So, Megan Heideman took the stocking to the Farmers & Merchants Bank main office in St. Clair, where she said it will be included in the local Lions Club Angel Tree program.
That program annually provides Christmas gifts to area children who either are in need or less fortunate. To participate, area residents selected an “angel” through participating area businesses and purchased gifts for the boy or girl named on the tag.
This year, more than 100 “angels” were available.
On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus and some of his elves packed all of the gifts, including the Heideman’s stocking, and delivered them to the children throughout the afternoon.
“We have so much,” said Megan, who works in St. Clair as a hairstylist while her husband and Jack’s dad, Jimmy, does carpenter work. “This is just a way we can teach Jack to share and that we are so fortunate to have what we do.”
