January 07, 2008
FORSYTH COUNTY - It is hard to imagine a better gift for new parents than a healthy newborn coming home for the first time on Christmas day. Thanks to Northside Hospital-Atlanta Auxiliary volunteer Pat Bowles, these babies go home ready to celebrate the holidays.
For more than 30 years, Bowles has created special Christmas stockings fit for a baby, made for all newborns going home from Northside on Dec. 24 and 25.
"Pat is like one of Santa's elves, making these Christmas stockings behind the scenes for years," said Marianne Askew, director of volunteer services at Northside Hospital.
For Bowles, who lives in Roswell, the stockings are just her way of giving back during the holiday season.
Each red and white, 26-inch stocking takes just one hour to make. For Christmas 2007, she has been busier than ever before.
This year, 72 babies were born at Northside on Dec. 24 and 25. The stocking project began more than 30 years ago with a few volunteers and in idea from a Memphis hospital.
As the years passed, the number of stocking volunteers dwindled, but Bowles remained committed to the project. She finally took on the task solo, and spends all year preparing for her own Christmas delivery.
"I take the stockings to the hospital a few days before Christmas, and start the process over right away," she says. "I keep a few ready year round."
The stockings, which are funded by the Auxiliary, are special keepsakes for families who receive them.
When Sharon Hoffman of Alpharetta brought her son Matthew home from Northside in one of Bowles' stockings 31 years ago, it immediately became a family treasure. Over the years, Matthew's stocking became worn and tattered, but he refused to replace it.
Then tragedy struck on Aug. 21, as a fire destroyed the Hoffman's house.
The family was safe, but everything was lost, including the stocking.
"When we were in the basement looking for anything that could be saved, we realized all our Christmas decorations were lost," Sharon said. "When I told Matthew the stocking was gone, he was devastated. That stocking was what he cared most about."
As the family celebrated the birth of Matthew's daughter at Northside on Dec. 5, Sharon went searching for a new stocking for her son. The gift shop sent her to Auxiliary office where, after explaining her situation, a tearful Sharon was presented with a red and white, 26-inch stocking, an exact replica of the one she carried Matthew home in years ago.
Hoffman's hope for the holiday season had been renewed.
"I could not believe that the same woman who made Matthew's stocking 31 years ago is still making them today," she says. "She [Bowles] has no idea how special these stockings are to the kids who came home in them."
Askew agrees.
"Ms. Hoffman's story shows the impact that the stockings have had and how thrilled our patients are to receive them," said Askew. "Pat's efforts certainly spread Christmas joy, and we appreciate her commitment to our stocking project."
But for Bowles, she simply enjoys knowing that she helps bring some extra joy to new parents during this exciting time in their life. She plans on making the stockings for years to come. "As long they still need me to make the stockings, I will be here ready."
For more information on the Northside Hospital Auxiliary, visit www.northside.com.
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