“I was this close, but I'm too poor to buy presents for my own family.”

— Rich Smith, University of Missouri freshman, Belton, Mo.

“Yes, I did. They had ornaments on the tree at church. I picked a 3-year-old boy. He's the same age as my son, so I knew just what to get him.”

— Kyle Parks, DeVry University freshman, Belton, Mo.

“Yes. I adopted a family from school. I got the kids remote-control cars and a bike.”

— K.C. Claypool, tanning bed cleaner, Lawrence

“I adopted one with a company that I was working for as part of a Christmas program.”

— Katie Bonczkowski, support manager, Lawrence