RICHMOND, Va. β For John Coleman, affectionately called Coach, the chance to give back to dozens of Richmond families is something he never thought possible.
"I had a car hit me seven years ago," Coleman said. "I had to really learn to love who I was. I had a whole lot of defects. I had half a head. I'm missing muscles, my legs. I looked in the mirror and it broke me down."
But in his journey to healing, Coleman said he found faith in the beauty of community.
"Just being grateful at this point in time, like God put it on my heart, gratitude is everything, and we have to learn to be grateful for the littlest things because those are the things that really mean something in life," Coleman said.
Grateful is exactly how Coleman felt Monday night as he watched dozens of children open presents as part of Operation Holiday Hope.
It's a Christmastime mission made possible because of Coleman's friendship with two Richmond doctors turned entrepreneurs.
"When Coach told us that he wanted to do this, we threw out a number," Dr. A. K. Nayar, founder of Nayar Health Care and Hospice, said.
"Dr. Duncan was there and he said, 'well, I'll match whatever you want to put in,'" Nayar said.
"To whom much is given, much is expected," clinical psychologist Dr. Anthony Duncan added. "We're just excited to be in a position to give back."
In its inaugural year, Operation Holiday Hope helped grant wishes to nearly 100 families.
For Coleman, there's no greater gift than to see smiles of faces.
"I get so emotional because you never know what the next person is going through," Coleman said. "Just to give somebody, just to help somebody, it's the littlest things that really matter."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
