Wishmas is a wrapper.
More than 1,000 wishes of Las Vegas high school students living in an impoverished area have been granted after teacher Cheri Guy tearfully asked the social media community on TikTok to help make their wishes come true.
The result was an outpouring of gifts and monetary donations that helped fulfill all the requests of the teenagers who attended Desert Pines High School, Guy tells PEOPLE.
“I never in a million years thought it would go this far and wide or get this big, but it’s so wonderful that it happened,” says Guy, 51. “It’s eaten up every moment I’m not in front of me. students.”
Guy gets choked up telling PEOPLE about the students who apply for the Wishmas program that asks them not only to list their wish, but the reason behind it. Many were looking for things for family members, others for things that have a special meaning to them.
“There was one who said, ‘I just want to [coffee chain gift] card because I don’t see my dad often, but whenever I do, he always takes me [there]. And I’d like to buy some for my dad,’ says Guy.
Jill Houser and Jenny Meehan, both local MsGuy TikTok followers, volunteered to wrap the packages.
courtesy cheri guy
The program at the Title 1 school — where nearly 3,000 students qualify for free and reduced lunch — started nearly a decade ago and is now led by teacher Nicole Whaley.
“We have a lot of kids that are in the foster care system, we have a lot of kids that are living in poverty,” says Guy, an English teacher in an at-risk student program. – These students are under a lot of stress.
In the past, about 300 wishes have been granted by teachers and staff. This is Guy’s first year getting involved and he felt they could increase that number by reaching out to the social media community. She created TikTok from her MsGuy account, which now has more than 165k followers, and the gifts have been pouring in.
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Guy says many people send gifts containing little messages for the student. She reads one: “The world is full of endless possibilities. I hope this opens a portal to good things for you. You matter. Your hopes and dreams are important. Never forget that. Merry Christmas.”
“They don’t just donate financially or buy gifts, they send sweet messages of encouragement to our kids, which I think is really important,” says Guy.
And some people are making progress: The CEO of Dearfoams heard about a little girl who wanted slippers to keep her feet from getting cold and donated boxes of slippers to the school.
Another example of kindness: A student who dreams of becoming an astrophysicist asked for a $200 physics textbook. Two astrophysicists offered to buy the book. After being told that it had already been purchased, Guy suggested that perhaps they could write a letter of encouragement to the student. One responded with an offer not only to write the letter, but also to mentor the student.
“Imagine a 14- or 15-year-old who dreams of being an astrophysicist and you have someone who comes from the same socioeconomic background saying, ‘I know what you’re dreaming about and I’ve made it,’” says Guy. “Those are the things that make this all worth it.”
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Cheri Guy’s daughter, Kaitlyn, 24, flew in from Arizona to help mom wrap presents.
courtesy cheri guy
Guy’s own desire is for people to see the possibilities when a community comes together to become part of something bigger than themselves.
She says she was reminded of the brokenness in the world when she went to the post office one more time to pick up more mail. She was stuck in traffic across the street from the Dec. 6 shooting at the University of Las Vegas. The 67-year-old assailant killed three faculty members and wounded a fourth.
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“I see students crying in the streets, and the world needs hope and kindness and faith in humanity,” says Guy. “And I feel like so much of that is hard to find these days.”
By the last day of school before winter break on December 15, close to 1,000 students had received their requests. Some wishes are “future gifts,” says Guy, including yearbooks, prom caps and gowns, and prom trips.
Guy says it was all made possible by the kindness of people around the world.
“I hope these kids realize that people love you, believe in you and want the best for you,” says Guy. “But I also hope it sparks something in them that makes them say, ‘I want to do this for someone else,’ as they enter adulthood. I want someone else to feel that way.'”
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Source: HIS Education