Sun Prairie waitress tipped 1K among hundreds to receive holiday gift from BGCDC

DANE COUNTY, Wis. (WMTV) - In the spirit of giving, one Dane County nonprofit, in partnership with generous community members, is ensuring every family has something to be grateful for this holiday season.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County has provided over 600 area families with financial support and holiday gifts this Christmas.

Sun Prairie native Callie Blue has been waitressing at Gus’s Diner for over five years, and while she thought Sunday would be just another day, the Boys & Girls Clubs had other plans for her.

“I came in thinking it’s Christmas, it’s gonna be a good day anyways cause it’s Christmas and everywhere else is closed so of course it’s busy in here. He was what, my second customer of the day? A man came in and tipped me $1,000 this morning.”

Blue received the money directly from president and CEO of BGCDC, Michael Johnson, who has spent Christmas day the last 20 years hand delivering presents to those in need.

“Whether it’s financially, educationally or even if it’s these little things by connecting them to resources, you know, in the community, we can’t transform kids’ lives without helping to remove some of these barriers,” Johnson said.

Thanks to donors, the real-life Santa Clause distributed over $100,000 worth of gifts this season.

“Just the other day, we took 50 families all throughout Dane County on shopping sprees, we provided rental assistance for school workers and older adults who were dealing with hardships. We helped several homeless families, including the homeless mother and her one-year-old child that was sleeping in a car and -10° weather.”

Johnson said they have no plans of stopping the tradition, embodying the true meaning of Christmas.

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