. . . While Others Learn Gift of Giving Early

Two youngsters, moved by media reports and the experiences of a friend, have been working at odd jobs and saving money for the past four months in order to share Christmas with abused and abandoned children.

Keelie Beavers, 13, and her brother James, 10, earned $60 by cleaning rooms and baby-sitting for neighbors, and used the money to buy stuffed toys for the El Cajon Police Department’s Child Abuse Unit.

Next year, the pair hope to involve all the residents of their apartment complex and possibly get a corporate sponsor by starting their project even earlier. They would like to see their toy drive become a Christmas tradition.

James said that shopping for and buying the 15 stuffed toys gave him “a very good feeling.”

His sister agreed: “If I was going to Hillcrest (Receiving Home), I’d want something to hug and love,” Keelie said. She added that they looked for toys that “weren’t too commercial.”

The toys will be given to children who are removed from their homes because of abuse or other problems and taken to the Hillcrest Receiving Home. Between 10 and 15 El Cajon children go through the system every two weeks, said Police Sgt. Carl Case.

He said the toys help “break down the walls” of children’s distrust or fear and “keep them from worrying about what is happening.” The process they must go through seems less institutional when they can play with or just hold a toy, Case said.

James said he was especially moved by a TV special that showed scenes of parents suspected of drug abuse being arrested and taken from their children.

Keelie said that a boy she knows ran away from his drug-abusing parents and stayed with her family before returning home. Although the boy’s family moved from the neighborhood, he still comes back for visits, she said.

Adelle Beavers, who has raised her family alone for the past 10 years, said the experiences of people in the neighborhood as well as news reports of child abuse and neglect started a family discussion about what could be done. The decision to help was made by the children, she said.

“We were helped for a couple of years and they haven’t forgotten that,” she said. A few Christmases ago, she sold some possessions and accepted donations from a social worker to provide a turkey dinner and presents for the children, but now the family is able to return the generosity. “This is the best we’ve been doing,” she said.

Keelie, an eighth-grader at Cajon Valley Junior High, said her school is very involved in Christmas food drives. As editor of her school paper, the Cajon Chronicle, she wrote that the season’s spirit of concern for the homeless and hungry should be continued throughout the year.

James, who plays the drums and enjoys skateboarding, said his classmates at James Johnson Elementary School are less involved. Pupils aren’t really concerned about other people’s needs yet, he said. “I think there should be a little more giving.”