Reston Woman Reaches Out To Brighten Her Sister's Holiday Season

RESTON, VA — 2020 has been a tough year for many people in the Reston area due to the coronavirus pandemic. As the holidays approach, some residents are looking for ways to brighten the spirits of those who may be facing hard times.

Carolina Oneill's sister, Jess, was furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic back in March. Although Jess was receiving unemployment insurance, it was cut off in October.

"She has a 5-year-old and I've helped her out with bills and groceries and things like that," said Oneill. Now she wants to do something to raise her sister's spirits during the holiday, as well as that of her son and the 16-year-old godson who lives with them.

"She just doesn't have funds for a tree or anything that would be accompanied," Oneill said. "We're still trying to figure out gifts for the little one, too. I know that at Christmastime people like to help people out and she's just one of those people who's had it really tough."

On Wednesday morning, Oneill posted the following message in a Neighbor Post on Reston Patch:

As of 3 p.m., on Wednesday, one neighbor had already offered to provide a Christmas tree. Others interested in donating decorations can respond to her Neighbor Post or drop Oneill an email at coneillfelton@gmail.com.

As a massage therapist and a membership retention specialist for Hand & Stone in Chantilly, Oneill has seen how the health crisis has affected many people throughout the community. Her own family had to downsize to an apartment after losing a home due to the pandemic.

"Any Christmas decorations donations or stuff that can go on a tree and things like that, just to bring up the spirit for the household," Oneill said. "I want the kids to have a good Christmas because it's been so hard."

Another recent Neighbor Post is seeking to brighten the holiday season for others, not through donations, but by offering a service. Rhonda Perkins shared the following post about her son's holiday decoration effort:

Perkins' son, Connor, and his friend, Caden Ghannam, are 17-year-old high school students who have been installing holiday lights for a fee in the Reston and Great Falls area for the last month or so.

"We both play football together, so we've been friends for a while," said Ghannam. "We have a break where we have some free time. So his mom was always encouraging us to pursue side jobs, like mowing people's lawns, shoveling snow, and installing Christmas lights."

Last year, thanks to the warm weather, their snow shoveling business was a bust. But this year, they decided to focus on installing Christmas lights instead.

"This year, his mom kept pursuing it. She said, 'There's a market for it.' She always has her Christmas lights installed and she didn't like how people were ripping her off. So she said if you guys give fair prices and you learn how to do basic roofing, trees, and things like that, there would be a real market," Ghannam said.

After training for a week, the teens began looking for customers on Reston Patch and NextDoor. Anyone interested in hiring them can call 703-203-5126 to set up a consultation. They'll come out to the customer's house, assess the job, and provide an estimate. Once a date has been agreed upon, they'll do the job and then schedule a time to take down the decorations.

As Langley High School students stuck at home and taking classes virtually, Connor Perkins and Ghannam spare time to work on this side hustle during the holidays.

"It's a lot easier to manage your time," Ghannam said. "It's opened up an opportunity for this. We're actually grateful for that. Obviously, we want to be in person at school, but we saw an opportunity and took it."

Do you have a holiday story you'd like to share? Share it in the comments below or send it to michael.oconnell@patch.com