Christmas is the time to be with family. But Terrance Williams, who works for the City of Riviera Beach, knew this Christmas would be a tough one for his two nieces and his nephew.
“We were like a close knit family,” Williams said.
First their grandmother passed away last December and then five months later their mother passed away as well.
“It just hurt,” Williams said. “It just hurt.”
He took the three kids in and became their legal guardian. It wasn’t even a question for him whether to do it or not.
“They mean a lot to me,” Williams said. “They keep me going. As time passes it still hurts. We’re learning to cope with it. Keep them involved in activities to keep their mind off of it.”
After everything Malachi, 11, Jakayla, 8 and Jakyla, 7 had been through, he was hoping he could put a smile on their faces this Christmas. But he didn’t have the financial means to buy many presents. At that point, he couldn’t even afford to get a new car after his had broken down.
Then the community stepped up and donated gifts for the kids.
“They got remote controlled cars, they got clothes they got coloring books,” Williams said.
It didn’t end there. Terrance got a gift as well. Someone in the community heard about his story and decided to give him his old car instead of selling it.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Williams said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all. And when he came through I was like, wow thank you so much. Really, really appreciate it..”
He said the kids love the car as well.
“I think they’re more excited than me,” Williams said.
Terence said his Christmas wish wasn’t a new car. It was to see his nieces and nephew smile again.
“It made me happy to see them happy on Christmas,” Williams said.