Hope for the holidays: 100 Pocono children get their wish thanks to Olsen Christmas Wish
The hotel dining room looked grand but deserted. Only half-eaten dinner plates remained at each table, courtesy of the children who'd abandoned them just a minute earlier. They stood outside now, peering around their parents' legs at the empty stretch of road before them.
It was chilly, but no one made to go back inside. Santa Claus was coming.
"I think we've got to sing something," a grownup said. The children immediately launched into a warbling rendition of "Jingle Bells," and to their delight, Santa came.
He pulled up in the passenger seat of a Stroud Area Regional Police cruiser, his beard made red and blue by the lights atop the car. Just as quickly as they'd run outside, the children surged back in; Santa's arrival meant it was time to open gifts.
There were countless of them, sprawled in heaps along the floor of a room adjacent to the dining room. Its doors had been closed all evening long, guarded by dads who'd scoop up any child that tried to peek inside. They'd crawl away, squealing and giggling, and try again later. Now, they ogled at the presents there.
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They're the product of monthslong fundraising by Olsen Christmas Wish, an organization that began in 2006 to benefit the children of a fallen SARPD officer, Jeff Olsen. Its founder, Chris Shelly, has worked each year since to benefit more families with the help of donations and sponsorships from the community. This year's list of recipients was made up of 100 kids and teens.
"It's just an absolute blessing," said Colleen Stipeck, whose children are among the 100. "When Chris asked me, he made me cry."
She tried to decline, at first. Stipeck and her husband are among those who've helped fundraise for Olsen Christmas Wish for years, so she knows exactly the depth of need they're trying to fill.
Shelly was firm, though. Stipeck's is one of the most amazing families he knows, he said, and they deserve the help. They got it Thursday night: A ramp for their 4-year-old son, who uses a walker, to get into the house by himself, and countless more gifts for their six other children.
Their family has grown since 2017, when Stipeck and her husband began fostering.
"You try to guard your heart with all of the kids as much as you can," Stipeck said. "But you ultimately fall in love with each and every one of them, no matter how short they might be with you."
The goal is to reunite the children with their biological families, but that isn't always possible. Three of her foster children's families were unable to be reunified, so she and her husband adopted them. Two of those adoptions were finalized Friday.
"To have Olsen Christmas Wish Thursday night, right into adoption on Friday is just the icing on the cake," Stipeck said. "You know, it's the best Christmas present we could get this year.
Hannah Phillips is the public safety reporter at Pocono Record. Reach her at hphillips@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Organization surprises 100 Pocono children with holiday wishes
