One of the reasons I love the holiday season is hearing stories that restore my faith in humanity. I wish these types of stories were prevalent all year round, but during this time of year, I look forward to hearing stories like the following unique version of Secret Santa.
Every year, KyXy 96.5, a local San Diego radio station, has a Breaking and Entering Christmas event.
If you haven’t heard what this is, a group of people, with the help of generous donations, helps local families in need during the holiday season. They break into their homes (with the help of a lock smith) and leave Christmas behind just like Santa is supposed to do in all our stories about him. What these people deliver though, is much more than Santa can ever do for a single family.
San Diego’s Breaking and Entering is the brainchild of Tommy Sablan, producer of Jeff and the Showgram. Around the holiday season, Sablan personally selects a deserving family to give an unforgettable Christmas. They ask their listeners for nominations of families who are in need and down on their luck. Lucky families selected have included a 23 year-old woman taking custody of her younger siblings after their mother died of cancer, to a family who was living in a small dilapidated back house after the father lost his job.
Over the last 20 years, the Showgram’s Breaking and Entering has included not only dropping off a few toys, but leaving behind food, entire bedroom sets, new cars, and even an entire renovation of a bathroom. The self-described hoodlums also decorate the inside and outside of the house since most of these families have understandably not put up very many holiday decorations.
In the 20 years of delivering Christmas, the Showgram has not had the opportunity to help out a single military family on air. This is pretty surprising considering San Diego is home to four military bases housing both the Navy and the Marines. This year, that changed.
A listener nominated a young military family after she saw a tragic story about them on the local news.
Justin and Jessica Dorson were middle school sweethearts. They grew up in a very small town in Texas, making their way to San Diego twice — the first time because Justin was based there as a Marine, and the second time because Jessica was based there when she joined the Navy. The Dorsons have two sons, ages 1 and 5, with one more child on the way.
On Sunday, Nov. 1, after having breakfast with his family, Justin went out for a typical motorcycle ride with some friends. In an attempt to avoid a head-on collision, Justin swerved off the road, hit a rock, and flew off his bike. Justin did not survive the crash.
In an interview with NBC San Diego, Jessica stated:
“You could go to him for anything. He would help anybody, even if we couldn’t afford to help someone. He’d be the first one to help.“
His life of giving back paid off when Sablan decided to select the Dorson family for the Showgram’s annual Breaking and Entering Christmas.
The Dorson’s story was especially touching to Sablan since he lost his own father when he was only 5-years-old. He was able to empathize with the Dorson’s oldest son, understanding how his life will be haunted with the memory of a father that should have been there at simple moments in life. Sablan hopes that this Christmas memory will help the 5-year-old during this difficult time.
On Monday, Dec. 14, Sablan left Christmas behind at the Dorson’s home. With the help of neighbors and co-workers who took Jessica and her boys to breakfast that morning, Sablan entered into the home and described the simplicity of it and how you could feel the spirit of Justin there. Sablan became so emotional looking at the pictures on the walls of the Dorson family that you understand this event is more than some radio shtick to get more listeners; rather, this is an event that touches and moves Sablan to keep doing this year after year.
In less than an hour, this is only some of what Sablan and his team left behind:
After Sablan left, and the Dorsons came home, the neighbor who took Jessica and her boys to breakfast, shared these photos with Jeff and the Showgram:
The Dorsons are not the only lucky San Diegans who will have Secret Santas deliver them gifts. According to the Showgram’s podcast, 40 to 50 families are taken care of off the air. A variety of people, from listeners to established San Diego businesses, break and enter into homes across San Diego, delivering a Christmas they will not soon forget.
To listen to the podcast of the 2015 Breaking and Entering, click here.
To see photos of the 2015 Breaking and Entering Christmas, click here.
Featured image from Facebook.
