By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

The holiday season is the time of giving and for a group of Orion residents that statement couldn’t ring truer.

Last week, Eric Stenberg, resident and owner Castle Irrigation and Landscape Lighting, received a phone call inquiring about Christmas lights.

“I’m just a sprinkler guy and I hang Christmas lights in the offseason,” Stenberg said.

Stenberg received a call from a local woman hoping to have Stenberg hang Christmas lights at her family’s house because they would not be able to hang them themselves this year. The family of five (mother, father and three sons ages three, five and seven) are currently down in Tennessee at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for their three-year-old son who is battling brain cancer. For him, the Christmas lights would be a welcome surprise.

Stenberg knew then that there was no way he could charge the family for the hanging of the Christmas lights and then took it a step further. He recruited one of his employees who was ready to help in any way he could.

“He goes ‘what they’re going through just makes my problems with my bills and mundane life, everyday stuff, it just seems so minuscule’,” Stenberg said of his employee.

As days passed, what began as a simple Christmas light hanging job turned into a full-blown coordinated effort to give the family as much support as possible.

“I prayed on it and God kind of laid it on my heart to make this public so everybody could get a blessing from it as well to help somebody that’s in the community,” Stenberg said. “They’re coming back and they’re not going to have time to go shopping, I don’t know what their financial resources are.”

Because the family has been in Tennessee, their yard is also in need of leaf clean up, something Stenberg plans to do for them. Additionally, he is hoping to provide presents for the children and parents as well as monetary support for things like medical bills.

Stenberg posted on a local Facebook chatroom explaining the situation and how he, his workers, step-brother, and girlfriend all wanted to help and if anyone else was interested in donating — whether it be money, time, gifts or gift cards – how they could do so. Within hours he had received dozens of replies from people in the community wanting to help.

After the response he received, a GoFundMe was created. By Monday, the GoFundMe had surpassed their $2,500 goal, hitting $3,750 and counting.

“It’s amazing,” Stenberg said. “I am floored by the heartwarming response… I told the mom, ‘I don’t know if you know what’s going on but you have got a strong family in this community,’.”

Stenberg hopes to welcome the family home later this month with a clean yard with Christmas lights hung and a visit from Santa himself who will give the gift donations to the children.

If you’re interested in purchasing a gift, remember the boys are seven, five and three-years-old. According to Stenberg gifts like board games, books, puzzles, project kits or things they can build together like rockets, LEGOs and anything Nerf are great gift ideas.