Volunteers help find family gifts

Nearly 250 of Santa's best helpers roamed the Westroads Mall Sunday, helping visually impaired students shop for holiday gifts.

The Santa's assistants actually were students from 14 area high schools who volunteered for the 49th annual Ruth Sokolof Christmas Shopping Party. The event allows youths with impaired vision to surprise their families with gifts they pick out themselves.

“These visually impaired kids don't get to go out by themselves to shop, so they miss out on the fun of surprising their families,” Karen Sokolof Javitch said. “Today all they need is a list, and our volunteers make sure they get what they came for.”

Ruth Sokolof, who died in 1982, was a teacher for the blind. After her death, her husband, Phil Sokolof, ran the event until he died five years ago. Their daughter now organizes the shopping spree with help from the Nebraska Foundation for Visually Impaired Children and about 300 volunteers.

Norma Johnson, the party chairwoman, said 248 students signed up to help 158 shoppers, the most in the history of event.

The shoppers are given $100 to spend — $25 in gift certificates at JC Penney and Younkers, and $50 in cash. Afterward, everyone was treated to a gift wrapping and pizza party and a visit from Santa Claus.

Brenna Rossi, 15, a freshman at Skutt Catholic High School, said she felt fortunate to be able to help Colby Wetsch choose gifts for his family. Wetsch, a 20-year-old senior at the Nebraska Center for the Blind in Nebraska City, said he can only see “a sliver of light” in his right eye.

“We've been doing a lot of joking around, especially over at the cologne counter,” Rossi said. “We tried a lot of scents.”

A big smile lit up Wetsch's face and his cheeks reddened slightly as he cocked his head to listen to the story of the colognes that he sampled for gifts.

“I told Brenna that the girls are going to be all over me now!” he said. “I'm having a blast.”

Kaylee McCuen, a 17-year-old junior at Burke High School, drew the undisputed comic of the event. She was assigned to help 11-year-old Lucian Brown, a fifth-grader at Benson West Elementary School who is partially blind and has mobility problems.

“I'm so excited that I could eat a raccoon,” Lucian said with a laugh. “I'm never going to leave my girl, Kaylee.”

Lucian also spouted a stream of non sequiturs that ranged from his thoughts on gorillas at the zoo to his wish to one day become a superhero.

When their fun at the mall was over, McCuen and Lucian were headed to his house to bake Christmas cookies with his mother. Lucian was eager to break out the Incredible Hulk video game he had selected for himself.

“I am very lucky to have been paired up with Lucian,” McCuen said. “He is such a surprise. It's wonderful and inspiring to see how these kids overcome things.”

Contact the writer:

444-1272, kevin.cole@owh.com