5-Yr-Old Helen Reyes Cardenas didn’t ask Santa for much this Christmas. Her father was unemployed due to an injury and her mother was desperately trying to make ends meet… it was going to be a frugal Christmas morning at the very best.
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Instead of asking Santa for something expensive, her wish list contained only the necessities the little girl in her position could hope for. She asked for a doll, some clothes, and shoes.
Helen put those items on her wish list, tied it to two pink balloons and sent it sailing to the North Pole.
But her note never made it to ol’ Kris Kringle.
The letter floated 676 miles south to a small ranch in Laytonville, California. Julie Sanderson and her son were out 4-wheeling when he spotted the sheet of paper caught in some brush. They stopped to take a look, and were floored by what they learned.
Dennis Dodds / ABC News
“The fact that she asked for a doll, some pants, boots and nothing materialistic, I just knew it was a family in need. I thought if I we can get a hold of them we can make sure there is something for her under the tree for Christmas,” Julie Sanders told ABCNews.com.
Julie immediately hit the town and bought several outfits and new toys. She addressed the package from Santa and sent it overnight so it would be under the tree Christmas morning.
“We’ve been in that situation ourselves, I know what it feels like,” said Sanderson “but now we are in the position to help so it really felt good to help this little girl.”
Hellen’s mother Rosa was blown away by the random act of kindness from strangers so far away. It turned out the balloon tactic was her idea and helped Helen put the request together.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Cardenas de Reyes told ABC News. “So I always told her we would send a balloon to Santa because that was a tradition when I was little.”
One small act of kindness can change a life forever.
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