Eli’s Magical Christmas Corner
Community First loan department creates month of holiday fun for young boy
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Every day, Eli and his mother walk past the Community First Bank branch on Hoffer Street. Mortgage loan officer Caroline Jewell saw them make their daily journey from her office window, but never interacted with them. This Christmas season, however, she and her co-workers at the branch decided to do something special for the boy.
They decided to share the magic of Christmas with Eli.
“I saw an opportunity to bless his day, and the entire department jumped on board to have fun,” said Jewell. “I watched them walk past my window every day, and I wanted to do something fun for him. That’s when I started brainstorming. I didn’t want it to be some huge thing. I just wanted to show him the magic of Christmas.”
Jewell recruited her co-worker, Katie Tharp, to help come up with ideas, and before they knew it, the entire mortgage loan department wanted to be involved. It started simple – a table outside the building with an advent calendar filled with chocolates. Eli and his mother immediately responded.
“It was really cool to see, but what surprised us was the mom’s reaction,” said Tharp. “We expected Eli to be excited, but his mom tapped on the window and asked, ‘This is for my Eli? My son?’ We saw his excitement come through each day; it gave him something to look forward to.”
“The second day we gave him a gingerbread house,” added Jewell. “He was excited about that, but his mom was excited, too. She had never put together a gingerbread house. Here we’re thinking we’re bringing the magic of Christmas to a little boy, but we’re also affecting the mom.”
The staff at Community First placed something out for Eli twice a day throughout December. Sometimes it was something as simple as a candy cane. Other times, it was quite elaborate, like the morning that Eli walked by to find a Christmas parade float waiting for him.
“The Christmas parade was that first Saturday in December, and I wondered what we would do with our float after the parade,” said Jewell. “I thought it would be really cool to bring the float to the back of our parking lot. When he walked around the corner, the gingerbread house float was there for him.
“Our maintenance team made it happen. It was all lit up, and he got to sit on the float. It was his that morning.”
Eli got another big surprise on Dec. 16. The Community First staff arranged for Louann Gross of Rise and Shine Farm to bring a pony to the bank.
“To watch him run around the corner and see this pony, dressed as an elf, was wonderful,” said Jewell.
Some of the connections made with Eli were more personal. Underwriter Richard Candelaria discovered that he and Eli share a love for the Japanese anime, Naruto. He gathered books and stickers of the animated hero to share with the boy.
“How did God know to bring Richard to Kokomo where this little boy is going to walk by our bank window, and they like the same thing?” said Jewell.
Even Mike Stegall, the bank’s now-retired founding president, got involved.
“He reached out to me and wanted to make a donation as well,” said Jewell. “This kind of thing was his vision for the bank; to be community oriented and to get involved.”
Tharp explained that everyone involved has been changed by the experience.
“Now they don’t just walk by and grab the gift, they stop and smile and wave and say hello,” said Tharp. “He runs around and shows us games on his phone and tells us about his day. It has been cool to see. It’s not just a Christmas thing anymore; it’s a friendship.”
Imagine doing something positive and NOT turning it into an advertising opportunity 🙄 They did good deeds but no need to make a story out of it for recognition