HotmailSpecial series: Christmas in July
NBC's 'Today' is spreading holiday cheer during the hottest time of the year
It’s Christmas in July on NBC’s “Today” show! All this week, during the hottest time of the year, we're surprising some well-deserving individuals and families with a little holiday cheer. Here’s a list of organizations and donors that took part in the series:
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MONDAY
Jean Carlos and Miguel Suarez are two brothers from the Bronx, N.Y., who play the violin. They are in the 5th and 7th grades and their dream is to one day become professional violinists. They began violin lessons three years ago through a non-profit program called Change for Kids. Miguel has one more year in the program and Jean Carlos has already graduated. The Suarez family was concerned that neither boy will be able to continue studying music.
Recipients
Jean Carlos and Miguel Suarez
Gift
A year of private lessons from Change for Kids instructor Majid Khaliq as well as their very own violins.
Resources
Change for Kids
Jazz at Lincoln Center
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TUESDAY
Fifteen-year-old Katelyn Wilbanks from Catoosa, Okla. was born with spina bifida. She's had 54 surgeries, and last year her left leg was amputated.
Recipient
Katelyn Wilbanks
Gift
Full scholarship to the University of Oklahoma
Donor
University of Oklahoma
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Tramelle Braxton lives in Richmond, Va., with her two children, Tatyana, 9, and Malik, 6. Her husband, Earl, is in Virginia’s National Guard and was sent to Iraq last October. Fewer than two weeks later, the Braxton home started falling apart.
Recipient
The Braxton family
Gift
Home makeover
Resource
USA Cares
Donors
JC Penney and Home Depot
THURSDAY
On Thursday, the "Today" Show continued its series called "Christmas in July" at the Urban Assembly for Law & Justice High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Principal Elana Karopkin has worked tirelessly to make this a strong
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Recipient
Urban Assembly for Law & Justice High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Gift
School supplies
Donors
Shleppers Moving & Storage Company
Dell Computers
SMART Technologies, Inc.
NEC Solutions, Inc.
Bedford, Freeman, and Worth Publishers
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
Science Kits & Boreal Laboratories
Xerox Corporation
Office Max
US Markerboard, Inc.
Keurig
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
FRIDAY Today show
Tom and Linda Eckfeld have adopted 24 special needs children over the years. It all started when one of their three biological children came
down with a life threatening virus. Tom made a pact with God: “Save my daughter and I’ll spend the rest of my life helping other children.” He wasn't sure what he was getting himself into. Their daughter, Tricia, survived and thrived, and from that moment on, Tom and Linda have never refused to take in a child who needed them.
July 29: "Today's Christmas in July" wraps up by delivering a surprise to an Ohio couple who has adopted 18 children, in addition to their own biological kids.
Recipient
Tom and Linda Eckfeld
Gifts
Medical supplies, basketball goal and court, bicycles, free car service for one year
Donors
American Medical Equipment
Sam's Club
Toys "R" Us
Mobility Works AJ Asphalt & Paving Company
Lifetime Products
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