Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Spread Joy this Season to those in need with "The Merrie Christmas Project."

Episode Date: December 18, 2021

Merrie Kaplan loved Christmas. Born with a rare genetic conditions, Williams Syndrome, Merrie was known as a friendly, outgoing woman, who brought joy to all. Now, her memory has given birth to an effort to extend that joy to families throughout Central Georgia’s 14-county area. ‘The MERRIE Christmas Project,’ aims to provide gifts, holiday décor, and food to families in need during the Christmas season. Joining Nancy Grace today: Mike and Nancy Kaplan, Merrie's parents Jaime Kaplan, Director of Philanthropy, United Way of Central Georgia George McCanless, President and CEO, United Way of Central Georgia United Way of Central Georgia is accepting donations for ‘The MERRIE Christmas Project’ here. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Mike and Nancy Kaplan, along with United Way of Central Georgia, announced the Merry Christmas Project in honor of Mary's love for Christmas. Mr. Mr. project in honor of Mary's love for Christmas. I miss her. And again, like I said, I'm blessed. I truly am. Blessed to have had her. Not a day goes by that Mike and Nancy are not thinking about their daughter. Our whole life was centered around this precious jewel that we had for a while. And I want other people to experience it.

I really do, from everything that's in me. I always used to say that she was like one of the Avengers. She had superpowers instead of disabilities. Us always said she had abilities because she had a super heart that was big enough for a place for everybody and made everybody feel like they had a place in their heart. Well, you know, after seeing a world of crime and murder and mayhem,

it takes a lot to bring me to tears. But those words of this wonderful mother and father who even though they no longer have their beautiful girl Mary, have somehow turned her life, her existence, her joy, her exuberance for living into something that matters in this world. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. And I have such a story for you today. It's the story of Mary. M-E-R-R-I-E. And with me, my longtime friend, Jamie Kaplan, Director of Philanthropy, United Way Central

Georgia, George McCandless, President, CEO of United Way Central Georgia, and special guest, Nancy and Mike Kaplan, father and mother of Mary. Nancy, your words moved me to tears. Tell me about Mary. My goodness, you know, this is really hard this morning, Nancy, because I cry every morning, and it's morning time. But that's good. I would like to cry with you all because I know you all care.

Mary was a supernatural soul that we got to have on earth. And I know that I needed her and never planned to have children and I had this little surprise. And then lo and behold, she was my special child and I have learned all the important things about life now. I wasn't sure about what mattered in life, and so God gave her to me and showed me the way to go. I'm so thankful for the time that we had her. Actually, I had Mary before I had Mike, and I know good and well that he married me just to get married because she was that adorable. And I kind of worried after she first passed away that he might leave me, but we had a courtship before Mary.

So we kind of relied on that. We're still together. But honestly, she was a loving soul and she had hundreds of friends. We knew that she had a lot of friends and we saw friends wherever we went and met people that we never even knew that she had grown to love and they had grown to love her. And when we buried her, there weren't enough seats in the room in the church and wrapped around the church twice. It was beyond happiness. And that's because of the love that she showed for people.

And I'll say the Christmas love, the Christ-like love that she showed. And, of course, that's my religion, and I'm married to a Jewish man, and we don't understand why the world can't get along because it's all God is love. And now we've learned that the cure for grief is service, and we're carrying on in that way in her name. Well, you know what? You brought up a really interesting point. Take a listen, guys, to our friends at 13MAZ.

Outside the Kaplan home is a wreath. Attached to it is the University of Georgia's football team schedule for the year. Sports ruled at our house thanks to Mary and I. That was my sports buddy. I hadn't been to Sanford Stadium in 30 years without her. Mike Kaplan says his daughter, Mary, loved all things Georgia sports, especially the Bulldogs. She hated nothing except for the University of Florida. She hated the Gators.

But with football season also comes Christmas, which was Mary's favorite holiday. And her father says their home won't feel the same this holiday season. Mary would pick out our Christmas tree. Mary would help us decorate the tree. Mary would do everything. I'm Jewish, and yet every November 1st, Mary and I would have to start listening to Christmas music in the car. That is exactly what we do at our home. The moment I wake the twins up in the morning, I say, Alexa, play Christmas carols. We listen on the way to school. I have it on when they come home. We love Christmas. And I've just got to say, Mary loved Santa, loved him. And I'm looking at a photo of her with Santa right now. She believed in Santa. She loves Santa. And what better way to remember Mary than to help other people at Christmas? I'm joining along with United Way and Mary's family to help people spread the love

of Christmas with presents, trees, and food throughout the community, and you can help us. With me, Nancy and Mike Kaplan. So, Mike, I'm thinking of you singing those Christmas carols around the Christmas tree with Mary. But tell me this. I want you to explain to me what is Williams Syndrome that Mary suffered. Well, Williams Syndrome is a genetic disorder. And Nancy Kaplan, my wife, I have to help me.

I think they're missing how many chromosomes, Nancy? They're missing 19 to 26 chromosomes on gene number 7. Well, yeah. And the cool part about this, Nancy, is that while they have some disabilities, their abilities are Mary's was her size of her heart, her ability to make everybody feel loved. But their social skills are abnormally high, as is their hearing. That's such a perfect pitch and perfect hearing. They're trying to figure this out. They have a camp up at Vanderbilt University at the Kennedy Center for people with Williams Syndrome every year. And they bring them in to

try to find out why they have perfect pitch and perfect rhythm. And they write a song. And sweet old Mary has been on the Grand Ole Opry four times and performed a song that she and her other 30 or so campers wrote. Oh, my stars. I took my husband, David, and the twins to the Grand Ole Opry, and I was just supposed to present Jamie Kaplan. I was supposed to introduce somebody, and lo and behold, guess who came out on the stand, Jamie? Who? Who came out on the stage?

The Grand Ole Opry square dancers. And they said in front of everybody, Nancy, join in. Well, I dove deep. All the way back to my square dancing days in 4-H. I did the best I could. I'm sure somewhere it lives on video. I'm embarrassed to say I gave it all I had. But what can you do

with the Grand Ole Opry square dancers? I did my best. I can just imagine Mary. I bet you were awesome. I can just imagine Mary up there at the Grand Ole Opry. It causes some slight to severe mental disabilities, and her social skills overcome that. She would work here at my office three days a week.

You know. As a matter of fact, if she didn't come to work, they would call me and come to get me. Come to get her. Who's jumping in? You should mention about the size of the brain. The part of her brain that lights up for music is larger than a quote-unquote normal person's brain. And a lot of Williams Syndrome children, just to interrupt Mike, which is what I'm best at, forgive me, is that they are like savants in music. Many are extremely gifted in music.

It's insanely beautiful, the music appreciation and the ability to play. Well, another issue, Nancy Kaplan, is that along with that musical, that incredible musical ability that is the gift of the Williams Syndrome, also comes with that. Jamie Kaplan, Director of Philanthropy, United Way, Central Georgia, is heart disease. The degrees of the heart disease and the condition vary. No two cases are the same.

But it is one of the ailments that goes along with Williams. Jamie Kaplan, what are you trying to do? Nancy, we are trying to just continue spreading Mary's joy. She just lit up a room, and she was joy. And what we want to do is continue to spread her joy around Central Georgia. She loved Christmas. And we just when Mike and Nancy came to United Way and talked to us about doing the Merry Christmas project, we were so excited to do this. We touch one in four people in the central Georgia area. We have a high rate of poverty in our area. And so anything that we can do to make Christmas more joyous for people, we're just overwhelmed by the support.

You know, Jamie, it's so true. I was trying to figure out about the twins Christmas and what they wanted. And it struck me. So many people don't have anything to eat. So many children go to school with empty stomachs. So many children are in foster homes. They have nothing but the clothes on their back. Nothing. And here you, Jamie and George McCandless, trying to help those very children in the name of Mary. Many of you may not have heard of Williams Syndrome. Listen.

Extraordinary gifts, unique challenges, and more than just a few of each. These are the hallmarks of individuals with Williams Syndrome. Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder which affects approximately 20,000 people in the United States. It is caused by the deletion of 26 plus genes on one copy of an individual's chromosome number 7. Williams Syndrome and families of affected individuals encounter major struggles. Individuals born with Williams Syndrome share many common facial features, as well as a constellation of medical, neurological, and behavioral characteristics. Most individuals with Williams Syndrome have mild to severe cardiovascular disorders, often requiring surgery.

And many suffer from kidney, bladder, and gastrointestinal difficulties as well. Little Mary passed away. Her spirit is living on even today. Nancy Kaplan, Mary's mother. What happened to Mary? How did Mary pass away? Oh, goodness. Every time you call on me, I'm crying.

Her heart, Agus Lee, was enlarged and it's the only problem that we weren't able to jump on fast enough we weren't aware of her enlarged heart and so we're actually thankful for the way that she passed away because her heart

beat out of rhythm one morning and quit beating. Our autopsy doctor told us that it's a very painless and easy way to go. Actually, just to tell the story, I heard her fall that morning very early. Being sound asleep, I wasn't sure that it was her well not sure at all I didn't know what in the world that sound was

and then I sat up in my bed and I listened very much and I always mothers hear that sound that your child makes if they need you. And I heard no sound like that. But then I heard her talking just like she was talking to someone standing there.

And I now know that she was speaking with those that had come to get her because she was just having a little conversation probably with my mom and dad. And so we're thankful for the way that she did pass, though it was unexpected. I'm very thankful for that. God is so good. He loves us so much, and I'm thankful that if she had to go, that was the way that he took her. Oh, goodness. Mother's grief is never easy.

With me, Nancy Kaplan, Mary's mother, and her dad, Mike Kaplan. Take a listen to our friends at 13MAZ. Mary had Williams Syndrome, a condition that affects the immune system and learning, but her parents say it didn't stop her from making friends. People, they'll tell you their own unique Mary story and how special she was to them. The combination of Mary's love for people and a love for Christmas eventually led to the Merry Christmas Project. So much help to me and my grief that we can help people have a great Christmas. The project is through the United Way of Central Georgia, and Mike says the money raised will help dozens of families.

Buy people with food, ornaments, Christmas trees, gifts. And the goal is for the Merry Christmas Project to bring holiday cheer for years to come. With me, George McCandless, President, CEO, United Way Central Georgia. George, thank you so much for being with us. George, what do you hope to achieve in Mary's name? You know, just seeing the grief that they were going through, but, you know, they came up with this idea of a way to, you know, honor Mary's love of Christmas. And I remember just as a kid growing up, Christmas was always so special in our house. And, you know, at United Way, we have a program called Parents as Teachers where we're going into the homes of those in need and working with them on their early childhood development. So we see up close and personal that there are a lot of families in this community, as Jamie mentioned earlier, that they're not going to have Christmas.

Their children don't get presents at Christmas. It's just in many cases, sad to say, it's just like another day. And so this was an opportunity to give those families the kind of Christmas I think a lot of us know about and make Christmas memories. And at the same time, it's really a win-win because it's helping, you know, the joy with Mike and Nancy and Jamie in keeping Mary's name alive. You know, it's amazing to me, Jamie Kaplan, Director of Philanthropy, United Way Central Georgia. It's amazing to me all the good. But I report and I research and investigate bad things, murders and child abuse and mistreatment of people, unsolved homicides, missing people.

It goes on and on and on. And I'm always stopped in my tracks and stunned at all the good in the world by far outweighing the bad and what you and nancy and mike and george are doing it amazes me jamie tell me how i and everyone listening can help you nancy we've we've got on our website it's unitedwaycg.org we We've got information on the Merry Christmas Project. There's a way to donate in any amount, any and every amount.

It all adds up to just a wonderful total that we can help people at Christmas time. So it doesn't matter what someone gives, what level they give at. Guys, go to united Way, C as in Cat, G as in Good.org,

slash Merry Christmas Project. And Merry is spelled M-E-R-R-I-E. United Way, C-G.org, slash Merry Christmas Project. I want to hear how is it going, Jamie? How do you help people with the money? What do you do with it? Break it down. Well, so we will be buying Christmas trees and decorations and food and clothes and toys. And we've even helped one young man that Mike and Nancy know that was having some problems with his teeth and needed to have teeth extracted. We have paid for that because he was getting very sick from how bad his teeth were.

And Nancy Kaplan, my sister-in-law, has found someone that's going to donate dentures for him. And so we are, imagine the smile on that face, the joy that we're bringing to him in Mary's name. And so we just, you know, we just want to help people in so many ways. The response has been just incredible. It's been overwhelming. We have raised a lot of money, and we are looking forward to helping a lot of people Christmas time. As a matter of fact, amen. As a matter of fact, take a listen to our friends at WGXA. The United Way of Central Georgia might be able to help. It's Merry Christmas project created

in memory of Mary Kaplan by United Way of Central Georgia and her parents provides food, holiday decorations, and gifts to families in need during the holiday season. We are talking about the Merry Christmas Project. You know what? When people tell me they feel empty, that they're sad, I always say the same thing. Look out. Don't look in. Don't think about yourself. Think about what you can do for other people. This is a way to help people at this so-called season of love. UnitedWayCG.org slash MerryChristmasProject

Nancy, again, I want to hear, which sometimes I feel like I'm the only one in the world that feels this way. There's nothing stronger on this earth anyway than a mother's love. That's the truth. Tell me your thoughts. Tell me your thoughts about your love for Mary. I am so excited, really. It's been my only help out of this grief.

I'm not saying that I don't cry every day. I think we all have, and I will continue to cry, but I've now seen so many women that have gone my way, that have seen that the only cure, there is no real cure, but the only help in this dark sea of grief is to look out. Just like you said, you have to look outside of yourself and help someone else because that is what love is. I don't care what your religion is. If it's a religion of love, I'm with you and we can go forward together.

And goodness, don't we need that now in this world? And it's really very simple to just look outside of yourself and help others, just as my daughter would do. She taught me so much about that and what's important. And that's why so many people loved her, because they knew that she loved them first. And we're going to really have a good time this Christmas. It's going to be great. Merry Christmas to Jamie, George, Mike, and Nancy. Again, if you want to help other people, here's a way to do it. UnitedWayCG.org slash Merry Christmas.

To all of you listening, Merry Christmas and God bless. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.