WITH VIDEO: Pontiac family has an ‘Extreme Christmas’

Two truckloads of furniture and a mountain of gifts were sitting outside April Cook’s home.

Surrounding the scene was a slimmed down Santa Claus with dress pants sneaking out from the bottom leggings of some red velvet pants, some rather tall elves wearing green garbs and a large group of volunteers donning Santa hats.

It was almost too much for the single mother of four children, all of whom are still mourning a loss.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,” said Cook, tears of joy filing her eyes. “Thank you, I thought it was for the house down the street.

“This is so overwhelming.”
The gifts were part of Yatooma’s Foundation for the Kids Extreme Christmas Makeover for Cook and her children.

In July, Cook lost her companion and her children lost their father when Charles Cook died.

The family has been struggling to survive, dealing with grief and in need of help.

That is where the foundation came in.

Attorney and founder of the organization, Norman Yatooma, in the guise of Santa Claus, said his foundation has been providing the Extreme Christmas Makeover for families since starting Yatooma’s Foundation for the Kids.

The nonprofit organization provides emotional, financial, educational, employment and social stability to families of children who have lost one or both parents.

The holiday season can be a difficult time for a family in need, especially if they’ve lost a parent, said Yatooma, who lost his father in a 1993 murder.

Aside from Cook and her children, families in Chesterfield Township and Inkster where helped this year by the foundation. The Pontiac family received electronics, clothing, toys and other items based on need.

The family will also have food, as well as their mortgage and utilities, paid for through the winter months of 2010 through the help of Art Van.

This is the first year the family-owned Michigan furniture retailer has partnered with the foundation, donating furniture for their home.

The foundation was also the recipient of the business’s $25,000 challenge grant earlier this year, which was on top of their donations for the Extreme Christmas Makeover.

Art Van Elslander, chairman of the company, was on hand for the delivery and received a big hug from Cook.

“We want to dry every tear and bring happiness to this family,” he told her. “You’re making our Christmas, honestly you are.”

After being presented with the gifts, volunteers set about moving the new furniture and almost endless supply of presents into the home.

Van Elslander called it a responsibility of people in the community to help those in need.

“It’s very gratifying and there was no question we could help,” he said.

Helping the kids with the gifts was Yatooma.

Yatooma said the gesture will help the family by giving them something positive to look back on.

“We all passed around the hat, from the board room to the family room,” he said, adding the foundation’s Extreme Christmas Makeover has become more extreme every year.

Trying to take it all in, Cook said it means so much to her family to have support and love from other people.

“It’s so overwhelming, everybody just showing their love and concern,” she said. “This means so much to know my children just don’t have mommy support, but they have support from other people.”

http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2009/12/24/news/local_news/doc4b335b62150fe961063896.txt