SNOHOMISH – Cody Stevens, 7, was playing when his mother called him over.
He started crying. “I don’t want to leave,” he said.
It turns out he didn’t have to leave; his mother Leah needed him for something else. But that’s how Cody felt about the mere idea of leaving the Christmas party offered for shelter families by The Farm Youth Outreach in Snohomish on Sunday.
More than 300 people – mostly children and their mothers who live in six shelters for the homeless in Snohomish, King and Skagit counties – were brought in for the free event.
The kids picked out presents and had their pictures taken with Santa Claus. They played on swings and teeter-totters. They played miniature golf. They ran, laughed and explored. The families ate turkey, ham, stuffing, potatoes, cake and pie. They sang Christmas carols and watched a nativity play.
Dan Bates / The Herald
“The kids are having fun,” said Leah Stevens, 27. She and her son Cody, daughter Dana, 5, and baby Nerissa, 3 weeks, have been staying at the Everett Gospel Mission for six months after a fire destroyed Stevens’ home. Then, her wallet containing all her money was stolen on a bus trip back from Florida.
The event was the brainchild of Bruce Karr, The Farm director.
“I just thought we really needed to do this,” that it would help build the kids’ self-esteem, Karr said. About $3,500 was raised to stage the event, with a goal of $5,000, he said.
Karr, 55, started The Farm 10 years ago when told he had 90 days to live if he didn’t get a heart transplant. He wanted to make a difference in the time he had left, he said, and combined land owned by his grandmother with donated land from a veterinarian to create a place for kids.
“I didn’t get a heart transplant, but my heart got stronger,” he said.
With donations from various sources, Karr has added to the five-acre property over the years and it now includes a small baseball diamond, basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a football goal post, play equipment, a theater and a large tent for big events.
“It’s a small Disneyland,” he said.
Working with churches and shelters, Karr invites troubled, homeless or special-needs kids to come and play or work. It’s all faith-based, he said, with worship songs or caroling part of the package. “Nothing heavy,” he said.
Already this fall, The Farm, with the help of Judy Hoff of Life Changes Ministry in Everett, put on two events, “Prince and Princess for a Day” and a harvest festival.
After the nativity play and songs at Sunday’s party, Karr was given a standing ovation by the families. He was hugged by one person after another as they left.
“He’s done really good things,” said Shauntea Lomax, an Everett Gospel Mission volunteer and former resident.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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