Make a Wish—Constructor University Students make Christmas wishes come true

Tis the giving season and give they did—for the 16th year straight! Hundreds from the local community met this year’s call from Make a Wish to make the holidays a bit brighter for underprivileged toddlers from Bremen with Christmas donations. Now in its 16th year, Make a Wish is the result of a collaboration between students at Constructor University, the parents' association for psychomotor development support, EPSYMO e. V., and Vegesack Marketing. Over 300 hundred presents were donated this year—and a certain S. Claus made his way down from the North Pole to hand out the Christmas cheer in a special gift-giving ceremony shortly before the holiday break.

Lego sets, Barbie dolls, toy cars and all kinds of Paw Patrol were high atop the Christmas wish lists, hung on Christmas trees with care by children from daycare centers Am Fillerkamp and Neuenkirchener Weg in Bremen-Vegesack. The gift drive itself began in earnest late November, as members of the Rotaract Club put up a trio of Christmas trees, two on campus at Constructor University and another on Sedanplatz square in Vegesack. Here, local “Santas” could take, wrap and fulfill a wish (maximum of €20), and drop it off at a collection point. If there was any question as to whether there would be enough holiday cheer to go around, within a matter of days, all the wishes had found a Santa. A special thanks goes out to the Lesmona Lions Club, which generously donated over €600 by fulfilling 34 wishes alone.

Organizing the gift drive were members of the parents' association for psychomotor development support, EPSYMO e. V., Vegesack Marketing and the Rotaract Club at Constructor University, the youth organization of the international Rotary Club. “I pour my heart into this from beginning to end. Knowing the stories of the families and seeing the pure joy on the children’s faces when they open their gifts makes every effort worthwhile,” said Elke Schött, project coordinator at EPSYMO. “This – their happiness, their smiles – is what Christmas means to me.” Sofiya Kirillova, who heads the Rotaract Club at Constructor University along with fellow CU student Nene Alavidze, has a similar view. “Seeing how happy they are is simply heart-warming—it makes all the effort worthwhile.

With the gifts wrapped and collected, the only thing left to do was to surprise the kids with their gifts, a job that calls for a Santa—or two. Dr. Arvid Kappas and Max Schlenker, two members of the Constructor University community, played the role of Santa, each donning a red and white suit and black boots at the gift-giving ceremony on December 19th at the kitas. “It’s really a great moment that I’m very grateful for,” said Dr. Kappas, professor of Psychology and repeat Santa. “Experiencing the children’s joy and excitement is a gift unto itself.”

Special thanks to everyone who took the time to donate a gift and make a child’s holidays a bit brighter.