At least 3,000 children received early Christmas gifts and their families received food pantries during A Place Called Home’s (APCH) annual celebration that kicked off Friday in south central Los Angeles.
Unlike millions of children, who live in marginalized areas or where poverty abounds, minors in the south center of the city are content with asking Santa Claus for basic things for their lives.
Melanie Martínez, 11, said she wrote her letter to Santa Claus and asked for two gifts, “a pair of shoes and something to write on.”
Meanwhile, her cousin Amy Toledo, 10, said that she was content with “something to color and a backpack.”
Accompanied by their aunt Rosalina Toledo and cousin Rosario, both from Guerrero, Mexico, the girls went home happy: Melanie received a bag with stuffed animals and Amy did get the backpack she longed for.
“At home, Santa Claus is poor and more than anything, one comes to line up for many hours for the happiness of the children,” said Rosalina Toledo, who had to bring her stroller to carry her little Gregorio. a year and a half old.
Once again, the “Home for the Holidays” event hosted by A Place Called Home was made possible by APCH board members, volunteers and sponsors, including Herbalife Nutrition, which donated $75,000. Other sponsors included South Los Angeles Transit Empowerment Zone and Starbucks.
The early Christmas party included distribution of toys, food, clothing and household items.
With a large group of children who were formed from 7:00 am on Friday until 8:00 pm, in a line of more than six blocks, from 28th to 34th streets, on Central Avenue, Patricia Mauro and Oralia Cosque Rosa were among the first to enter the establishment to receive their gifts.
“There’s not that much money to spend on Christmas,” Patricia said. “The economy is very low [mala]”.
The woman, who works in the sewing sector, said that the help her three children received with the toys [Arturo, Camilo y Victoria Baltorano]it would save you from spending approximately $300.00.
Serve the community
“This is our big toy distribution that we do,” said Norayma Cabo, executive director of A Place Calle Home. “This is probably one of my favorite events we do all year.”
Norayma Cabo, a Mexican woman from the state of Nayarit, expressed that one of the most outstanding aspects of APCH in the delivery of toys and food pantries for children and their families, “is when we can bring love, joy and generosity of the holiday season to our community here in South Central Los Angeles.”
For more than three decades, A Place Called Home (APCH), a nonprofit community center, has been offering free, enriching programs in the arts, education, health and wellness to the youth of South Central Los Angeles and its communities. families.
“Our mission is to encourage and support young people to achieve social, emotional and economic success,” the executive director of ACPH told La Opinión.
“We know that the community in the south center is greatly impacted by people who do not have many resources and we know that the services that are available in other communities are very difficult to acquire in that community,” he added.
Norayma Cabo explained that in addition to the resources and services they offer, community members are supported from elementary school through adulthood to ensure they have the tools necessary to thrive in life.
She stated that, for her, bringing the magic of Christmas means that those parents probably do not have the financial resources to buy their children a toy or at least the clothes they need to go to school.
“The truth is, it is a pleasure and a pride that I feel that all of us in the organization support the families,” he stated. “We know that right now there is a lot of fear in the community, due to this issue. [deportaciones masivas de inmigrantes] What is going to happen, starting with the new administration [de Donald Trump] and we try to bring them a little joy.”
“The magic of this time is a beautiful joy and a gift now that the Christmas holidays are coming. For me it is a pride to be able to provide help to families so that they can give that joy to their children,” said Norayma Cabo.
Since its founding in 1993, APCH has directly served more than 20,000 youth members through its core school, after-school and summer programming, and more than 150,000 local residents through family and support services including food, clothing and distribution. of toys for the holidays; in addition to advice, assistance for voters. education and community organization.
Ask Santa Claus for a little brother!
Joanna Acosta, an immigrant from Bogotá, Colombia, attended the toy delivery with her daughters, Amy González, nine years old, and Sara, 12.
While Amy was expecting a bottle of Slime as a gift “to reduce stress”, her older sister wanted Santa Claus to bring her a little brother!
“They give me a lot of homework at school and I can’t do it anymore!” Amy said. “I also wish I had more patience to learn English!”
And, the moment Sara, the quietest, made her wish for Christmas known, her mother almost fainted from fright.
“No! “That’s not going to happen!” said the woman, surprised by the request for a gift that her daughter wanted.
$1.3 million in support
Jenny Perez. executive director of the Herbalife Foundation recalled that the alliance they have with A Place Called Home dates back to 2005.
“We were the first organization that began to support APCH as a foundation,” declared Pérez. “Since then we have donated $1.3 million dollars.”
The donations from Herbalife have been basically for the education and nutrition programs of the non-profit organization that works in south central Los Angeles.
However, Jenny Pérez recognized that in the southern central areas of the city there is little chance that, in their immediate surroundings, children and their families will be able to count on healthy and nutritious food.
“Yes, the most difficult thing in this type of community is access to nutrition, to nutritious food,” he accepted. “So, this organization [A Place Called Home] educates them in the beginning for nutritious food. They also teach them how to eat well, which is very important.”
A donation of $75,000
Dawn Campbell said that the late Mark R. Hughes, founder of Herbalife Nutrition, had a vision that all distributors and their employees alike would always give something back to the communities.
For this reason, Campbell presented a check for *$75,000 to A Place Called Home, which Norayma Cabo symbolically received.