Helping Little Hands gathered their wrapping paper, scissors and tape before heading over to Gilda’s Club in Warminster to host their annual wrapping event on Dec. 17. Volunteers spent time wrapping Christmas gifts for people who are affected by cancer this holiday season.  

Cancer patients are often too weak to wrap the gifts themselves, or cannot afford to buy wrapping equipment. They were very appreciative of the volunteers’ time and efforts to make their holiday season brighter. 

Gilda’s Club is on a mission to support, educate and empower cancer patients and their families. Wrapping Christmas gifts is the main part of the event, but it also connects cancer patients with the community for the holiday season. They were able to talk to each other and relax while the volunteer “elves” were wrapping presents. 

One patient said, “I was diagnosed with colon cancer about two years ago. Soon thereafter, I lost my job and never thought I would leave my house again. Gilda’s Club and organizations like helping Little Hands gives me hope and allows me to finally communicate with people who understand what I am going through.” 

That comment and the payoff of being able to directly see the change they are making in the community deeply impacted many of the volunteers, like freshman Raina Conaway. “Volunteering at Gilda’s Club was a great experience for me. It was special to be able to see how grateful people can be for a simple task and a little bit of my time and effort,” she said. 

It was also a rewarding experience another volunteer,  freshman Sarah Pae. “I loved volunteering at Gilda’s Club. It was very moving and motivating to see people happily going out of their way to wrap presents for people who are in need. It was very heartwarming to immediately see the result of my early morning wakeup. I would definitely do it again.”