Project Zero volunteers wheeled out bicycles of all sizes and carts stacked with red bags as big as Santa’s sack to the vehicles of expectant foster parents and children Saturday morning at the temporary North Pole in the Chenal Village retirement center parking lot.
When Kyndal, 9, saw her name handwritten on a bag, she jumped around and twirled in her purple, planet-embellished skirt. She poked the bag to feel what may be inside while shouting “Thank you!”
This year, the nonprofit also created 12 other “North Poles” across the state.
Project Zero teamed up with the Arkansas Trucking Association to take Candyland Christmas on the road. At 9 a.m. on the dot, six semitrailers rolled out of Fellowship Bible Church’s parking lot, heading to spots around the state to fulfill the wishes of 483 children.
Normally, the nonprofit hosts a large luncheon called Candyland Christmas for children across the state who are in foster care waiting to be adopted. The pandemic put a roadblock in the usual plan, but it didn’t slow down Executive Director Christie Erwin.
“Christie was going to find a way to make sure kids had a magical Christmas,” said Amy Webb, chief communications and community engagement officer for the Arkansas Department of Human Services. “We work to get kids to find forever homes. We really needed an entity that would focus on that, and Christie Erwin is absolutely amazing. There’s not many people like her, and she brings such an energy to finding kids forever homes.
“They work so hard to fill the kids with hope and make sure they know they have great value. If there’s ever been a Santa Claus, he works for Project Zero.”
CANDYLAND AND COVID
Erwin knew the group needed to take every precautions during the pandemic. She also knew the children deserved to have their holiday wishes grants. She had a creative solution and took the concept of a Candyland Christmas To-Go to Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association and a Project Zero board member for eight years.
“Initially, in my mind it was much smaller scale. We were talking two truck and three or four stops, but as the need and number of kids came together — we wanted it to be a special day. For it to happen in one day, we needed more trucks and more resources,” Newton said.
Newton said she had no problem recruiting helpers. Nine association trucking companies and their employees provided trailers and equipment, drivers, volunteer help and gift donations, as well as serving as drop-off locations, she said.
Just like every year, the nonprofit encourages children and teens to make their lists, and then lets donors pick out a specific child and list from which to buy.
By putting the lists online and adding an Amazon shopping list this year, Erwin said the organization reached a larger donor base. The regular groups of people from Arkansas churches and businesses adopted lists, but so did people from California to Vermont.
Gaming systems like Nintendo Switch and Xbox were some of the most requested items. One boy wanted a wrestling belt; a girl wanted specific onesie pajamas; and another asked for a ukulele. Alex, an 11-year-old who has autism, loves vacuum cleaners, Erwin said. Hoover and Dyson each donated one.
“The important part is making sure it’s unique and individual like the child is,” said Erwin, who is a foster mother and adoptive mother herself. “That’s what sets what we do apart from a toy drive. They’re wonderful, but there’s something different between someone handing you something that they chose and someone giving you something that you chose. There’s value in that.”
Th e o rga n i zat i o n i s funded by individual and business donations, without state funding. All staff members work from home, pandemic or not, minimizing overhead.
Erwin said there’s no price limit set on the gifts. If anything is missing from a child’s list when donations come in, Erwin and others hunt for those gifts, charging items on their own credit cards at times.
“Some of these kids have never made a Christmas list before,” she said. “They are used to being second-rate. They’re used to used — both being used and used stuff. So, could we do it cheaper? Yes, we could. Would that value our waiting kids as much? I don’t think so.”
Entering the Little Rock “North Pole” the day before pickup was like walking into a cheery organized chaos. Volunteers from the trucking companies were wrapping and labeling gifts while more seasoned workers checked lists twice, color-coding each bag by truck and drop-off location.
L o r i C h a p m a n i s a n adoptive mother and has volunteered for seven years with Project Zero. She has recruited helpers from her hairdresser to her son’s ROTC group.
“Once you get in this world, you don’t want to leave it,” Chapman said. “Part of why I like working with Christie and Project Zero is because she values each child individually and wants them to feel special. And honestly, it’s God. To see, every year, how God fills the needs we can’t even think of. … You look forward to it and get chills all the time.”
‘INDIVIDUAL STORIES’
Erwin founded the nonprofit Project Zero in 2011 out of the Pulaski County Adoption Coalition, which has worked for more than 15 years ago to further the cause of adoption in Pulaski County and across the state.
The organization’s name and mission originated after Erwin heard a pastor say, “if we were doing what we’re called to do, there would be zero kids waiting for adoption,” she said.
Since 2011, the organization has helped more than 850 children find homes, with 105 of those adopted this year.
“I think of their individual stories. These are not babies, where people are lined up to welcome them home,” Erwin said. “These are kids who have been through a lot. They need a family that will walk through that with them and help them heal.”
The nonprofit normally hosts events throughout the year to allow children with approved waiting families to get to know one another in a nonthreatening, fun environment. In lieu of those events, Project Zero hosted Zoom connection events throughout this year.
Cody Bailey, 18, has attended several Project Zero events.
“It was exciting to see all the people, to talk with Christie, walk around and just have fun. They truly care about you and love you,” he said. “Kids show up and don’t have to worry about whatever is going on at their foster care. They’re just having fun.”
Bailey first met his adoptive parents, Dawn and Brad Bailey, at the 2017 summer Disney Extravaganza, an annual connection event with dozens of themed booths and entertainment.
The Baileys attended the event as volunteers with the son they had adopted two years before. Dawn Bailey said they were not looking to adopt another child, but then they met Cody.
Cody Bailey and his mom volunteered at this year’s North Pole. She wrapped while Cody unloaded the heavier boxes.
Giving a child what they want for Christmas isn’t about money; it’s about letting them know their individual voice is being heard, Dawn Bailey said. Cody Bailey agreed, reflecting on a time he received his favorite gift through Project Zero.
“I got a pair of Beats headphones. I asked for them and was not expecting to get them because they’re not very cheap,” he said. “I saw one gift that looked odd to me. I waited till last because I had a feeling it was going to be something I really liked. I remember opening all the other presents, and I see the two house parents looking at me with this grin that they had. … I remember opening up the present, and I saw them. I immediately teared up and hugged them.”
As a volunteer, Cody said he experienced a different type of happiness this year.
“To be given the chance to flip that around and do it for other people, it’ll change your perspective,” he said. “It was the joy of doing something for someone else.”
“Some of these kids have never made a Christmas list before.They are used to being second-rate. They’re used to used — both being used and used stuff. So, could we do it cheaper? Yes, we could. Would that value our waiting kids as much? I don’t think so.”
—Christie Erwin, project executive director