Crimson Wishes is an organization on campus that allows university students to give back to the community by granting Christmas wishes to children in Tuscaloosa. This year, the organization is partnering with Southview Elementary School.

“People have maybe heard of something like Angel Tree, where somebody has to sponsor a specific child and they donate the gift to that child,” said Lainey Barcomb, a junior majoring in nursing and the founding president of Crimson Wishes. “The biggest difference with us that makes us stand apart from a lot of those organizations is the personalized letter writing.”

Members of the organization go to the school and help the children write letters. The children fill out a form that states their name and what they want for Christmas. The letters are then compiled into a spreadsheet that is given to donors, who either pledge money for gifts or purchase a number of gifts themselves. 

The organization writes return letters in reply to the children’s initial letters, and from there, any remaining gifts are bought, wrapped and distributed at an event hosted by Crimson Wishes in early December.

“I started with the idea when I was with my little sister at Cabela’s and there was a little station where you filled out letters for Santa and you put it in the dropbox,” Barcomb said. “It sparked the idea to have the letter exchange, and to have that really personal touch where the kids actually receive a handwritten letter and get the gift that they asked for.”

There are five committees within the organization: letter writing, donor recruitment, shopping, gift organization and assembly. Each committee works together to coordinate with the school, raise money and awareness to buy the gifts, wrap all of the presents, write letters from Santa, and make plans for the big reveal. Any student on campus can join a committee to help the process become a reality.

“It’s coordinated pretty nicely so people who want to volunteer can do so a couple of times a semester to go and help make it all come together,” Barcomb said.

Local organizations, sororities and businesses are working with Crimson Wishes to provide over one hundred children with Christmas gifts this year. 

“You don’t have to give to us through money,” said Caramia Alexander, head of donor recruitment and a sophomore majoring in kinesiology. “You can just give your time or even just post our little flier on your Instagram.”

Crimson Wishes is a way to connect with the Tuscaloosa area and local schools, as well as to show generosity during this season of giving. Students can find more information on Crimson Wishes’s Instagram account and by joining the GroupMe.

“My favorite part is how Tuscaloosa can come together as a town and a city of really wanting to help those who aren’t as fortunate, and just the giving heart that a lot of organizations actually have, if you just reach out and ask them,” Alexander said.