Among the brightly lit homes in Hercules, a dimly lit home may contain the brightest Christmas spirit of all.
It is the home of Edna Campbell and her daughter Burgundie, who, with their soon to be adopted relative Aaliyah, are cooking up a Christmas celebration for about 400 needy people in Richmond.
Their home in Hercules is beautiful, but there are no Christmas decorations, no lights and no tree. Just boxes and boxes of things they will give out Christmas Day.
"This is how we celebrate Christmas, you're surrounded by boxes of shoes and clothes…I love it," Aaliyah said.
There will be a turkey feast, clothes, groceries to take home and toys for the kids. Burgundie started the event, called Christmas in Richmond, but she wants to do more for the city where she grew up.
"You have a lot of parents having trouble with their kids, period; so you have a lot of people who are misguided and that's scary for our future," Burgundie said.
"I'm learning a lot from my daughter; it's about giving, having a purpose, I used to be like a lot of people, did a lot of shopping," Edna said.
They are not an organized nonprofit, just three generations of women who have redefined the meaning of Christmas for themselves and about 400 friends who they will meet on Christmas Day.
