LATEST STORIES:

Giveaway brings tears to winner

Share this story...

It was a true Christmas miracle. A miracle that Rosie Sidhu and her sons couldn’t have anticipated.

The family was set to get through another Christmas without any presents. And then a phone call from the owner of Burlington’s J.P. Motors changed everything.

Rosie Sidhu knew she couldn’t afford Christmas gifts for her kids. But she was really worried about the next few months. Her car wasn’t going to pass inspection.

Then she got a call from Larry Pattinson, who owns one of the biggest used car dealerships in Ontario. She’d been chosen to receive his annual gift. This time, a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Rosie Sidhu: “I even said in the phone, ‘is this a joke? This is a joke’. He said no.

Josh Sidhu:  “Without this car, there won’t be a Christmas. It’s the best present ever.”

He’s not exaggerating. The family was just given their first Christmas tree. Rosie was just given a bed, so she won’t have to sleep on the floor of their subsidized apartment. Before, they lived in shelters.

Rosie: “I didn’t have nothing. I used to go with my kids through the garbage and second hand stores.”

(You had to dilute the milk?) “Yes. It was the worst, I didn’t like that because I used to cheat on them, put water in the milk so it would last longer, so they could have it with cereals. But they noticed, I got caught.”

Kathy DeSantis: “She has her little boy Joshua who was diagnosed with leukemia before he turned six. And he’s still not well.”

Kathy DeSantis met the family through a meal program she runs: “She said, she said to her kids, there will be no Christmas. We have no gifts. I mean, sometimes she has no food.  And she doesn’t ask.  She spent the whole summer without a washing machine, didn’t tell me. Did all the washing by hand. I mean all the washing. In the bathtub.”

But Rosie did tell Kathy she was worried about the car: “She still has to bring Joshua a lot to the doctors a lot and her car is falling apart. It’s being held together with band aids practically.”

Kathy didn’t know what to do, until she saw the J.P. Motors ad, calling for submissions. Her letter broke the car family’s heart. and now the Sidhu’s have luxuries, like heat.

Rosie: “Finally my kids say, we’ve got heat in the car.”

And it’s not just the van. J.P. Motors had a Christmas party and collected so many gift cards, food and presents. There might not be enough room for the family in this van.

Rosie: “This is a big changing for us. It’s nice. I’m so excited, you can tell.”