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SOUTH SALT LAKE — It began to look a lot like winter outside the Ahmeds' home as Catholic Community Services volunteer Stacy Chamberlain uloaded bags of gifts from her car, which was doubling as a sleigh this December. And it soon felt a lot like Christmas morning inside.
One by one, the Ahmeds' nine children tore through wrapping paper to reveal coats, shirts, jeans and flannel sheets. They were all items this Somalian family of 11 can use to get through the winter in Utah.
"They add so much to our community and our lives. These families that I work with, they all become family to me,"Chamberlain said.
The Ahmeds have been part of Chamberlain's family since they arrived in South Salt Lake in mid-September. "Every time I get to meet with them, it's just so much fun whether it's just practicing English or learning something new," she said.
On this afternoon in December, the Ahmeds were learning just how generous Utahns can be. Each year, Catholic Community Services' Gift of the Drummer program provides presents for over 1,300 low-income, homeless and refugee children.
Sean Lambourne, a senior at Judge Memorial High School, has been involved in the Gift of the Drummer program for four years now.
"Christmas seems to be more about getting nowadays, and now we're giving and it feels good to do giving," Lambourne said.
Each year in early December, groups like the students from Judge Memorial begin delivering hundreds of unwrapped gifts they've collected to Catholic Community Services (CCS). "I think that the Gift of the Drummer is one way that we can give back and raise awareness that we're all humanity together and we need to step up and help each other," said Maria Stokes, a senior at Judge Memorial.
The national debate over whether to allow more refugees into the United States has made these students even more passionate about this project. "They've been isolated from their home and it's really rough and I couldn't even imagine having to go through that," said Rachel Shubella, a senior at Judge Memorial.
Lambourne agreed, saying, "These refugees are being put under so much fire right now that we're just giving them something … hope, and that's a great thing."
"(The refugees are) coming here for safety and for a new life and for hope for their children," said Danielle Stamos, director of public relations and communications for CCS.
Like the subject of the 1940s song "The Little Drummer Boy," Utahns offer many gifts from the heart. Rudi Zurbuchen is a senior at the University of Utah who volunteered an afternoon at CCS to wrap gifts for refugee children. "A lot of the families that I've met are personally good friends. So, it's kind of like I'm helping out my friends," he said.
Kelli Geskes, a freshman at the U., joined Zurbuchen to wrap gifts. "It makes my heart feel really warm actually just to know that those kids are still going to have a Christmas," she said.
Zurbuchen, who was preparing for finals during the gift wrapping said, "Things like this make me think there is hope in the world and that we're moving in the right direction."
Stamos gets involved in every aspect of the Gift of the Drummer program. "All (the refugees) need is a friend to welcome them and to make them feel like this is their home, like they're accepted. That's all we all really want," he said.
Chamberlain said the program is really the gift that keeps on giving. "I get an opportunity to give and expect absolutely nothing in return, and yet I receive so much," she said.
Chamberlain helped the Ahmed children start to assemble one of their gifts, a beautiful gingerbread house.
Maryama Ahmed, the mother of the family, thanked everyone in her native language as many of the CCS volunteers prepared to head out for more deliveries. They will visit hundreds of families before they have time to celebrate Christmas at their own homes.
