Single dad with five kids gets Christmas surprise
Chesterfield Township — After the loss of his wife, Doug Schrandt wasn’t sure how he was going to pull Christmas together for their five children.
“I’ve been super, super busy and it’s just been hard to do a lot,” said the 37-year-old from Chesterfield Township. “My wife was the one who did a lot (for Christmas) before.”
But on Wednesday, Schrandt got some help with putting presents under the Christmas tree from Yatooma’s Foundation for The Kids and Art Van Furniture. Founded by Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, the nonprofit foundation works to help children who have lost a parent. The foundation chooses families they service throughout the year. Generally it’s the first Christmas spent without the family member.
Shortly after noon Wednesday, beige Art Van Furniture delivery trucks and a caravan of cars pulled up to the Schrandts’s home in a subdivision near 24 Mile and Baker Road.
Yatooma, dressed in a Santa Suit, got out of a car and walked up to the Schrandts’ front door followed by foundation and Art Van “elves.”
A round of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” was sung by the group before they unloaded six large decorated cardboard boxes full of toys, clothes and electronics.
Schrandt and his children, Brianna, 9; Luke, 7; Kayla, 5, Emma, 3 and Nathan, 10-months-old, opened some of their presents on their front lawn. The older kids were given bikes and Dad got a new recliner.
That wasn’t all, Santa’s helpers dropped off a few everyday necessities too. Representatives from Art Van presented the family with a ceremonial check and a pledge to pick up the costs of the family’s mortgage, utilities and groceries over the winter as well.
The presents couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only did Schrandt lose his wife, Kim, to breast cancer in May, but he’s currently unemployed, working as a full-time dad, he said.
“It’s overwhelming,” Schrandt said after Santa and his helpers left. “This is just a tremendous blessing. I didn’t expect anything like this or even close to it.”
Yatooma’s Foundation For The Kids calls it an “Extreme Christmas Makeover.” The effort is meant for families with annual incomes of $25,000 or less and with children who have lost a parent. Art Van Furniture is underwriting the cost of the presents for the families.
This year, the nonprofit and the furniture retailer spread some Christmas cheer to the Schrandts and two other Metro Detroit families: the Cooks in Pontiac and the Jacksons in Inkster.
“This is for kids who are going through their first Christmas without Mom or Dad and families who have had their financial world turned upside down because of that,” said Yatooma. “We’re trying to give these kids something else to remember on Christmas besides the loss of Mom or Dad.”
It’s something that hits close to home for Yatooma. His father, Manuel, was shot to death while trying to stop a carjacking in 1993. Yatooma, who was a college student, said he still remembers that first Christmas without him.
“It’s very awkward trying to fill that space,” he said. “For these families, we’re trying to fill it with something fun and exciting.”
Art Van Furniture officials said the Extreme Christmas Makeover is a perfect way for the Warren-based company to give back to the community.
“Dealing with the day-to-day struggles of providing shelter and food all while coping with the loss of a parent is a tremendous challenge,” Art Van Elslander, chairman and CEO of Art Van Furniture, said in statement Wednesday. “Seeing what Yatooma’s Foundation For The Kids does for its families, we wanted to be part of something special for these families.”
