The Christmas holiday is a time of celebration and to spend time with loved ones, but for hundreds of children in the Pittsburgh area, it can also be a reminder of the mothers and fathers they’ve lost to senseless acts of violence. But thanks to Adrienne Young through her organization, Tree of Hope, and countless donations from Pittsburgh people, these children’s Christmas will be a little brighter.
On Dec. 19 during the Tree of Hope’s 15th Annual Christmas Celebration and Toy Drive at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty area, 548 children received several toys, most donated by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
“I went through it myself and I knew what I needed (at that time), so I knew that they needed help. It’s a blessing and I’m very happy to meet their needs,” Young said of to the organization’s giving. “We started out this year not knowing where the toys were going to come from. We started with about 100 toys, so we are very thankful (to all those who gave).”
Young said the annual celebration began in 2000, several years after the death of her son, Javon Thompson, who was gunned down days before Christmas, December 1994, by a local gang member while home on Christmas break. He left behind an unborn child, Tajaya Thompson. Young said after seeing what her granddaughter, and other child victims like her, had gone through over the years and realizing their families’ needs around the holiday, she decided to do something.
She first went to an organization that conducts an Angel Tree for children of an incarcerated parent, but was turned down because she didn’t have a department of corrections number. “I said to them, ‘so you mean the boy who killed my son can get toys and I can’t?’” Young said.
After being turned down, Young then went and successfully sought help from the late Gwen Elliot, a Pittsburgh Police commander at the time. Elliot called on her colleagues along with representatives from several corporations, including Dan Wholey of Robert Wholey & Co., who still gives today. Since then Young’s organization continues to give toys to children 14 years old and under.
Tajaya, now 19, said she is grateful to have seen something positive come from her family’s tragedy, but has mixed emotions. “It’s sad to see that over the years my Grandma’s organization has grown because so many young men have lost their lives and they’re leaving behind more kids. But it’s nice that because of me, this organization can help a lot of kids that clearly need help.”
With all the murders that have taken place thus far in 2014, Young said she added 58 children to this year’s list of recipients, the largest number she has added in a single year since the organization began.
This year, after struggling to receive donations, Young once again asked for assistance from the people it started with—the Pittsburgh Police.
Assistant Pittsburgh Police Chief Maurita Bryant, who was in charge of collections, said once she received Young’s request from Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, she placed boxes at several locations, including the various zones, duty locations and the training academy. Once the officers got word, the donations came pouring in and the boxes filled up fast.
“I was just so surprised and so overwhelmed with how the boxes filled up. And, I mean, filled up with not junk, but nice toys,” Bryant said. “It was really, really beautiful how people gave. With the Tree of Hope, and how all the kids connected there are kids who had a family member who was a homicide victim, I think the officers really were touched by that and were generous in their giving.”
Bryant said not only did law enforcement officers give, but she also had residents who donated toys and money once they got word of the special project.
Young said while the police have helped over the years, this was the first year it was on that scale. The donations were so overwhelming that instead of the child participants receiving one toy, they were each able to receive multiple ones.
Along with the police, Young also received large donations from former Pittsburgh Steelers Ray Seals, Pittsburgh’s own DeJuan Blair, and many more.
Keesha Williams, who attended the celebration with her 10-month-old son, James Fleming Jr., said the celebration was excellent. Her son’s father, James Fleming, was killed July 2013 while changing a tire outside of their Homewood home on Kedron Street. He died before ever meeting his son.
“Family and friends, they’re supposed to look out, but to know that strangers, people you might have never met, stepped up and helped; it means a lot,” she said. “With everything going on in the world I want to teach him you can depend on strangers, that there still is good people in this world. So I really appreciate that this helps me to help raise him and that’s what we need—a village to raise these kids. That’s really what it’s all about.”
Not only does the officers’ generosity show the true spirit of Christmas, but both, Young and Bryant, believe it also shows a commitment to the community, it’s residents and will help the ease the ongoing tension of the relationship between the police and the community.
“I think kids will look at officers different. A lot of the times when kids see the police it may be in a bad way and if they have a parents who are involved in criminal activity, I’m sure they’re saying, ‘Don’t talk to police.’ It’s them talking negatively about the police and you’re always hearing something negative in the media, on the news. This was a chance for us to do something good and I hope the kids appreciate it,” said Bryant.
Young said, “This makes a great difference because people know that they care. People do not always see this side of the police. So I think this goes a long way with healing.”
Along with the distribution of the toys, the organization held a celebration that included host Pastor Karl Edmonds, of the duo K&K Mime Ministry; live entertainment from Spirit Filled Music Ministries, rapper Gene Shelby aka M.O.T. and Eastminster Presbyterian’s own Nikki Porter who sang a song entitled, “What About the Children”; and words from State Rep. Ed Gainey and keynote speaker McLay, who spoke about police-community relations, the keys to a successful relationship and the importance of accountability, not just with the police but the community as a whole, as well as engagement and partnership.
Young said the event brings her healing as well and that she is grateful to everyone who helped make the celebration a success. “The people of Pittsburgh came out for us very strong.”
(For more information on Tree of Hope, visit www.TreeofHope.com.)
