Nine-year-old earns a Christmas bike — but it’s not for her
Carley Spencer likes to craft her own hand-made Christmas cards. It’s sort of a family tradition.
But this year, she took it one step further.
Now, because of Carly’s artistic bent, some little boy she doesn’t even know will find a bicycle under the tree this year.
At the age of nine, the Artondale Elementary School student chose open up her very first “shop,” selling her hand-made Christmas cards in order to raise money to buy a bicycle for a young boy.
“I think little boys like being outdoors so I bought a bicycle for a little boy,” said Carley, a short blonde girl with an infectious smile.
She raised $60 after selling her hand-made Christmas cards to friends and family, said her mother, Michelle Spencer.
The idea, at first, was to participate in the Gig Harbor Lion’s Club downtown “Giving Tree” program, in which shoppers pluck a gift tag from a store tree and bring back a matching gift. More than 40 Gig Harbor businesses are participating, and the Lions Club has distributed 2,000 gift tags.
But when Carley offered the bicycle, she learned that it was too big for the program, because the stores have limited space.
So instead, Carley and her mother plan to take the bike to the FISH food bank, which has a program that matches gifts with families.
“There has got to be a little boy out there who wants a bike,” Michelle Spencer said.
“I like giving because you can get things for other people who don’t have enough money for things they really wanted,” Carley said.
This was a team effort. Both Carley’s mom and her brother, Connor, 11, helped her make Christmas cards.
Handmade cards have been a family tradition for the Spencers, who make them every year to put on presents.
“Sometimes we look on a website and sometimes we grab a card and look at our supplies and figure out what would look good together,” Carley said.
Carley, who learned to ride a bicycle at the age of seven, said she hopes to raise enough money to donate a helmet along with the bicycle.
That pleases her mother, who says Carley has a kind heart.
“I like the fact she was thinking of other people other than herself.” Michelle Spencer said. “I like she is so willing to give and want to give to other people.”
Carley said making Christmas cards is just one of her arts and crafts hobbies, as she loves to draw as well.
“And play with slime,” added her mother. “Lots and lots of slime.”
Carley said she wants to make the gift-giving part of the family tradition.
“We are going to make our own Christmas cards every year!” she said.
People like Carley who wish to donate gifts for Christmas have several opportunities leading up to the holidays:
▪ Look for Giving Trees in downtown Gig Harbor businesses, said Lion’s Club vice-president Ruth Peterson. The trees are decorated with tags that suggest toys or clothes for a child of a specific age. Customers pick a tag, shop for the item and return it to the store.
The gifts are distributed to the Fish Food Bank, the Boys and Girls Club of Gig Harbor and the Childrens’ Home Society in Vaughan.
▪ Gig Harbor real-estate agent MIchael Robinson will hold his 5th Annual Garage Food Drive this Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. at his home, 7612 44th St. Ct. NW. The goal, he said, is to fill his garage with donated canned and other non-perishable food for the FISH food bank. Last year, he collected two truckloads.
▪ FISH Food bank is also collecting toy donations at Gig Harbor Fire Station 50, 10222 Bucacich Road, Station 51, 6711 Kimball Drive, and Station 59, 62nd Ave. Ct. NW, Artondale. Donations of food are welcome at the Food Bank headquarters, 4425 Burnham Drive.
▪ “Be a Santa for a Senior” is a program to collect gifts for seniors who live alone in Kitsap County and the Gig Harbor area. It is sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care. Donors may stop the Home Instead office in Bremerton for a list of suggested gifts, which volunteers will arrange to pick up later. The office is at 840 Callahan Drive, Suite B.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 12:00 AM.