Spreading Christmas cheer - the rest of the story

When I write articles, I usually end up having notes and quotes that don't fit. Last week, I wrote one on Central Pa. businesses that people can hire to do their holiday decorating. One of these companies, Christmas Decor by Utopian Landscapes, gives two grants each year to decorate homes for free. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit that into my article, and I felt bad, because the owner said they were looking for nominations for this year's grants. So, I'm going to write about it here, in the hopes that Central Pa. friends will share it. :-)

Utopian Landscapes' two grants are the Donald Phelps Christmas Grant and Decorated Family Grant. The Donald Phelps Grant, named for owner Nikos Phelps’ late grandfather, goes to an individual or family experiencing personal or financial hardships. The Decorated Family Grant is given to a military family missing a loved one during the holidays through deployment or loss.

“There’s some great people out there. These are people who try to help everyone else and help themselves last,” Phelps said. “It’s someone else trying to tell this person, you can relax now, someone else will take care of you."

Phelps told me some stories about families they'd decorated in recent years, and it got to me.

The military family is usually one who is missing a member overseas. For one, Phelps made arrangements with the deployed husband to Skype with his family on a certain day, and while he was online with them, the company showed up at the door to do the decorating. The kids had a great time helping put up lights and pick out colors.

One year, they decorated for a Gold Star mother (one who has lost her son or daughter in combat). "We wanted to let her know her sacrifice isn't forgotten and make her holidays brighter," Phelps said.

The needy families decorated through the Donald Phelps Grant have gone through a range of hardships. One had a terminally ill daughter, another had lost their house to fire.

Last year's recipients had gone through a myriad of struggles, Phelps told me. They were a mother and daughter; the daughter had been attacked by a dog, and the mother jumped onto the daughter to ward off the attack. The daughter didn't have health insurance, so her hospital bills added up. The mother ended up with a spinal infection, and she also has MS.

"She didn’t blame anyone for the attack," Phelps said. "We decorated her home and she had a party, invited her friends to see the unveiling. She doesn’t blame the dog, and she was just trying to raise money to pay the bills. We told another client and they donated money anonymously. She took half of it and donated it to charity to try to help someone else. That was one of the more gut-wrenching ones I think we’ve had."

Unfortunately, Phelps said it's a struggle every year to find nominations.

"It’s something our guys look forward to. We owe it to the community to do that.

We’re blessed to have a service that really has the opportunity to brighten up someone’s holiday season."

They're still seeking nominations for this year’s grants. More information and a nomination form are available at www.utopianlandscapesllc.com. So please, spread the word - or nominate someone yourself!