Spyhouse Customers Make the Best Christmas Ever

Spyhouse Customers Make the Best Christmas Ever

A big shout out to Spyhouse customers and staff for donating time, money, and gifts to two Twin Cities families that needed a boost this Christmas, after recent tragedies. Your generosity brought tears to their eyes and smiles to their faces. It also helped pay their mortgage and other bills, giving them less to worry about at a stressful time. Here’s a glimpse at how everything came together.

In early December, KSTP-TV Reporter Joe Mazan called Spyhouse to ask if he could shoot a story inside our St. Paul Café because he “liked the vibe.” Turns out the story was about a Rosemount resident who received help in 2018 from a non-profit organization called Best Christmas Ever, after her husband was killed in a car accident. Now, she was paying it forward, helping to organize the Best Christmas Ever for someone else who has experienced loss, heading into the holiday season.

This year, a wife/mother unexpectedly died of a heart attack and in another family, a husband/father had a fatal fall while hanging Christmas lights. Their spouses were suddenly left alone to care for their kids and their kids were facing their first Christmas without their parent.

After learning more about the work of the Best Christmas Ever organization and the help these families needed, we asked if we could buy some gifts to help out. We set up donation stations in our cafés, where customers could grab a bag with a gift request inside, purchase and return it to us. The response was overwhelming. With very little turn-around time, Spyhouse customers and staff members purchased 34 gifts for two families, including a bike, a trike, a sled, a stunt drone, and a Minnesota Zoo membership.

Spyhouse President Kevin Wencel and Director of Administration Alyssa Lundberg worked with other Best Christmas Ever volunteers to wrap gifts and prepare for delivery. Then on December 23rd, Alyssa and her kids and Office Manager Sara McCleary joined a 20-car caravan of sponsor and donor cars to deliver gifts to one of the families, a father and his three children. The Best Christmas Ever organization also gave the family $15,000 to cover their mortgage and other bills in 2020. Alyssa said, “It was so emotional for us to make a connection with one of the families, hear their story, and see the impact of the gifts. We are so touched by the quick response and generosity of our customers.”

Thank you to all of you who took the time to shop and donate to this great cause. It’s an honor to know and serve you. If anyone would like to learn more about Best Christmas Ever, go to bcemovement.org.

Images by Sahrenedipity Photography