October was Bog Fright Night, September was The Tastes and Sounds of China, December is Kids Komfort Kits, and all because MA Children's Relief founder Sally Morrison never received an email from a friend in Louisiana.

"We used to always exchange emails before evacuations," Morrison said, explaining the pre-hurricane routine established between her and her graduate-school friend who taught first grade in Slidell, Louisiana. "The irony is that I had no messages" before Hurricane Katrina.  "It wasn't supposed to hit."

A speech-and-language specialist at the John W. Decas School, Morrison had helped foster a pen-pal relationship among Decas students and her friend's students in Louisiana.  After Katrina, students, teachers, even community members who knew about the program stopped to ask Morrison about their southern friends.  But she had no idea where they were.

"That's when it became a runaway train," she jokes.

Calling across the flooded state, she eventually located many of the students and her friend at different emergency shelters throughout the South.  A crafter, she decided that she would send the children personalized "security" blankets that would remind them of their Wareham friends.   As she started shipping blankets, she found herself as the point person for Wareham residents looking to send information, goods, even money to help hurricane victims.  And MA to LA Children's Relief was born.

Soon, Morrison had convinced Cape Cod Express to ship all their boxes at no cost.   She recruited volunteers to buy Kids Komfort Kits containing necessary clothes and hygiene products.  But it was the personal touches - the blankets coordinated so that they were the child's favorite color, the notes, the special gifts -  that made the most difference.

Pen pals traveled from shelters in Georgia and Texas to pick up their Kits, and truckers photographed the boxes through each step of the journey so that Wareham residents knew that they weren't getting lost amidst the "shenanigans" that Morrison said were happening in Louisiana.

But while she was glad to assist, Morrison said something about it always bothered her.

"If you could do it 2,000 miles away, we could do it here."

So with the Louisianians recovered to a point after two years where they could hold their own fundraisers to assist their communities, Morrison focused her sights on Wareham.

She has divided the year up into different "Seasons of Giving" with projects that supply children with the necessities (and some fun stuff) at those times of year when parents need a little extra help.

Kid Komfort Kits cover the holidays and the beginning of winter weather by providing warm hats and other outerware along with special Christmas gifts that are requested by each child.

Beach Bucket Brigade is in late spring, and gives kids sand toys, new swimwear, summer clothes, and sun-tan lotion.

Finally, Backpack to School filled backpacks with school supplies for September 1.

Through it all, Morrison tries to keep a personal touch by assigning shoppers with gift lists from specific children.

It's so much more wonderful" if people can do that, Morrison said. "Every child deserves the right to get that special gift" that they want.

And the shoppers enjoy it too.  Morrison said that shoppers tell her how they get an opportunity to relive their best Christmas, by providing a child with that special gift.

Also important is that the gifts are delivered unwrapped - Morrison jokes that it's because she would open any wrapped gifts to see what's inside, but the real reason is that she wants the recipient's parents to be able to take part in the gift-giving process by wrapping the items.

And Morrison loves being in the gift-giving process herself.  She recently presented Turning Point Director Lee MacDonald with a check for $4,000 and a $1,000 fan (literally, Morrison made it from $20 bills, told you she was crafty) from the Tastes and Sounds of China fundraiser held at Salerno's this fall. And to make the event even better, she showed MacDonald a storefront in Onset where they could store, assemble, and pass out goods for the Kid Komfort Kits this Christmas.

"It's connections and awareness and matching people together," she said smiling.