I recently came across a Facebook post written by Johanna Harper about her son, Donovan, and her nonprofit, Harper House of Hope. Every once in a while, something stops you mid-scroll—and her words did exactly that.
With the need for holiday assistance higher than ever this year, sharing Johanna’s mission with my readers feels like a small but meaningful way to help. Donnie’s Deck the Halls Drive is dedicated to bringing joy to families who need it most this season. Read on to learn more about Donovan’s story and how you can make a difference.
Can you tell me a little about Donovan — what was he like?
A really one of a kind person, the light in the room. He had a charisma about him that could never be learned, almost like he was born with it. He did whatever he could to make people smile and feel loved, especially younger kiddos, seniors and his family. He went out of his way to be kind to everyone, especially the underdogs, forgotten or broken. He struggled with different medical issues for the majority of his life but was so resilient and strong, not once allowing anything he faced to stop him from doing anything anyone else did that it almost made you forget his limitations. He, I hate to say the word was but, he was one of the smartest kids I had ever met, he was like a walking encyclopedia that could provide you information on anything you could ever ask for. Extremely creative in very different ways than I have seen a kid be, he was a master at a young age in stop motion movie making and design and was on his way to being the next Tim Burton.
For those who haven’t heard of it before, how would you describe Donnie’s Deck the Hall Drive? How did you come up with the idea?
Donnie's Deck the Halls Drive is a Christmas adopt a family program that we created as a part of our non profit, Harper House of Hope, community outreach, this event specifically created to assist during the Holidays. We designed this particular event to help grieving children and parents as well as individuals suffering illness or financial strain. Our main focus is grieving families as we noticed after losing our son how little resources were available for families suffering loss. We decided to start Donnie's Deck the Hall's Drive in honor of Donovan's final days with us. Unfortunately our last holiday with Donovan was Christmas 2023, he passed away suddenly 5 days later. Leading up to his passing he spent the entire evening before Christmas instead of making ornaments like we do every year, trying to make it a special holiday for his little sister. I am against Elf on the Shelf, for the chaos created, but my youngest daughter really wanted an Elf, so my son created two little cotton ball snowmen with hats and scarfs, button eyes and felt carrot noses (Jingle and Snowe) and placed them in the snow with a loving note letting her know they would be around all year to keep an eye on her. For the next several days he would stage them in different scenarios for her to enjoy. The day following Christmas my son found out that his friend didn't receive any gifts that year. He asked me if he could use all the money he had been saving to buy gifts for his buddy, unfortunately he never got the chance to give them to him. We knew last year as we led up to the holiday that it was going to be difficult. It would be our first Christmas without him and a very close time to his 1 year angelversary. We decided a way to honor his giving heart and to connect with him that year as well as to provide ourselves with some hope was to create a larger scale of what Donovan did in his final days. That's why we have people adopt the families and then hold the dinner where we make crafts, play games and provide hope in instances of hopelessness.
How do you think Donovan would feel seeing what this event has become?
I think he would be proud of us and himself and what his life inspired others to do. And even though he isn't here in the flesh his giving spirit flows through all of us and continues on. I can almost see his bright smile when I think about it.
What was last year’s event like? Any special moments that really stood out to you?
It was a beautiful celebration of a community coming together without focusing on anyone's differences and only the commonality of us being a human race doing our best to help each other get through the hard times and celebrate the ones we love and even the ones we lost. We have a memory tree that we place out for everyone to decorate an ornament for someone they love and lost as well as to light one of our electric candles in solidarity for those individuals, it really created unity for everyone and a safe space for those grieving and love from those who are not.
How do you find and choose the families you help?
I go through several different avenues. We generally start with speaking with Judi's House, a non profit that my husband, daughter and I were clients of. They do free group therapy for parents who have lost a child or spouse or children who have lost siblings or parents. We also take nominations from schools throughout the Denver metro area for families they believe need the assistance. We will also take applications from individuals within the communities that reach out to us via phone or our social media pages, where they will provide us further documentation regarding their situation.
What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve seen from a family receiving support?
I had so many grateful families last year that were speechless and heavily emotional about the help that they received. They didnt know how they would manage to provide anything for their children that year. I had one Mom who lost her 2 year old daughter a few months prior and had 5 other children. We spoke for a long time about the commonality of losing our babies and how unseen we feel since and for the first time in a while she felt like she had an advocate and that it was okay to be a mother to both living and angel children and still grieve.
What’s been the most rewarding part of seeing this mission grow?
The most rewarding part is knowing we are making a difference and filling the gap just as my son would. The fact that my childs life is still making a difference and even though I don't have him here physically I know he is walking with me. I am his vessel now.
What message would you like to share with families who might be struggling this holiday season?
I know it is hard and that there are days you want to give up but you're not alone, please hold on, there are people out there like our organization that don't know you but love you and want to help you.
If Donovan could send one message to the community today, what do you think he would say?
Love each other, cause life is short. Do what you can to be the light in the dark, cause you never know what someone else is up against.
How can people help with Donnie’s Deck the Hall Drive?
We have a lot of different ways to help:
- Donations are always helpful. We have a Venmo account available, we also have had people donate through Fidelity Charitable, check or even cash.
- You can sponsor (adopt) a family in need, by signing up via our google form.
- We also could always use volunteers now and in the future as this will not be our only event. We will plan to do some more stuff throughout the year including a Heal on Wheels and a basketball tournament in Spring/Summer.
- Getting your companies involved to sponsor our events and fundraisers.
Also just following our Facebook page for updates and sharing with your network about our organization and events.
About Harper House of Hope
Harper House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) non profit created shortly after the passing of our incredible 11 year old son. We are dedicated to helping those in need through out Colorado.
Harper House of Hope EIN: 33-1514192
Connect with Harper House of Hope:
- Harper House Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/harperhouseofhope
- Sponsor a family: https://forms.gle/ELpFKd8GLXnpK8oA7
- Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/177yJ67Gwz/
