CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It is the season of giving and a Piedmont Middle School student in Charlotte wanted to spread some Christmas cheer.
Jaelim Mays came up with the idea of doing 12 Days of Christmas by completing random acts of kindness every day. Unfortunately, COVID-19 complicated his plan.
“Christmas is all about giving,” Mays said.
Instead of thinking about what he wanted for Christmas this year, the 12-year-old decided he wanted to help others.
“Somebody needs support any time of the year, but Christmas is especially special,” he said.
He decided to spread joy over 12 days. Each day as he and his mom were out and about, they would look for someone who needed a hand.
“The one time when we went to a barbershop after I got my haircut, we saw this guy having trouble because his appointment got delayed. So we helped him out,” he said. “It’s just seeing who’s having a bad day.”
He kept track of his good deeds: surprising strangers with money for groceries, paying for gas, and giving his school bus driver a goodie bag. But they only made it to the tenth day.
“We were a little devastated the fact that his dad got COVID and we weren’t able to complete the 12 days,” his mom, Deja Hill-Mays, said.
The family won’t get to spend Christmas day how they hoped. They typically wake up early and see what presents are under the tree. This year will have to look different.
“COVID has definitely changed every dynamic for what we could’ve ever imagined for our Christmas,” Hill-Mays said.
Her husband started having mild symptoms earlier this week and tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
“We did not expect the week of Christmas to now have to wear masks around the house and separate each other,” she said. “That is not something that we’re used to. We’re a lovey, huggy, kissy type of family.”
For millions across the country, Christmas is clouded by COVID-19 and many families are experiencing their first holiday season without a loved one. U.S. COVID-19 deaths this year surpassed deaths in 2020. Nearly 11,000 people in North Carolina died from the virus this year.
Doctors fear omicron could bring even more destruction in the new year.
“Case numbers are always important but to me, it’s going to be really interesting to see what percentage of those end up in the hospital relative to delta, and let’s hope it’s a low number,” Dr. David Priest with Novant Health said.
He added a person who has omicron will typically spread it to three to five others around them. He said the holidays will lead to a surge in cases so he’s urging people to get prepared.
“Being proactive and being vaccinated can help prevent some heartache down the road,” Priest said.
The booster shot is especially important to get protection from omicron.
Even though Christmas won’t look how it usually does for the Mays family, they’re comforted knowing they made the holidays much brighter for 10 others.
“It would be easy for him to take the kid role and just stay a kid, but he doesn’t want to do that. He wants to get out there, he wants to help, and it just warms my heart,” Hill-Mays said.
Jaelim hopes to finish the last 2 days on another holiday.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.