The Santa Clarita Valley chapter of Junior Chamber International “JCI SCV” www.jcisantaclarita.com is excited to announce that our popular Santa’s Helpers toy drive is back! We have partnered with 3 local non-profits, Child and Family Center, Single Mothers Outreach and the Domestic Violence Center to help families in need of a little Christmas cheer. On December 10, approximately 250 local children will receive gifts from Santa at a Christmas party hosted by JCI Santa Clarita at the Valencia Ice Station. They will also enjoy a fun evening with pizza, cake, face painting, crafts, ice skating and pictures with Santa Claus.
The event kicked off in style with a triathlon held by the Paseo Club on August 27, with all funds going to Santa’s Helpers. In addition Junior Chamber members were at the Burrito Bowl pictured handing out Christmas candy and raising awareness of the event.
Rebecca DeLuca, the 2016 Lead Chair said “Santa’s Helpers is all about helping those less fortunate than ourselves, the very essence of Christmas and community spirit. We make sure every child who attends gets the best possible Christmas experience. We are truly grateful to the Paseo Club for raising money for our drive for the 3rd year in a row and donating over $2,800 to the drive.
Two years ago the Jaycees expanded Santa’s Helpers brought holiday cheer to guests at the Bridge to Home Shelter and at the SCV Senior Center. This year we plan on helping both organizations and expanding this drive further to truly “help” at Christmas time by helping as many nonprofits as we can. We are thrilled to be able to expand the drive out by doing a coat and sock drive for Bridge to Home!
In order to make all of the events successful, we are looking for assistance from the community and we are grateful to The Signal for their support!
Toy donation boxes will be placed through various business around town but we also need sponsors to help pay for the event. We are grateful to our title Sponsor Surfaces SCV Design Center, The Magazine of Santa Clarita, as well as Antonio and Malorie Alletto from GRIT OCR for their support. Unlike other drives we help children up to the age of 18 by providing gift cards to teenagers so they don’t miss out on Christmas too. All our toys are given to local children within our valley.
Individuals can volunteer in preparation for the events, as well as at the parties. SCV youth needing service hours are welcome to volunteer at the events leading up to the ice staking party.
For more information about event sponsorship, volunteering or other ways to be involved, email Rebecca DeLuca at volunteer4santa@gmail.
