County probation officials in South and North County played Santa and his elves over the weekend, brightening the lives of 45 families and their 112 children.
At the South Bay Probation Office, privately donated toys and holiday meals were distributed Saturday — sometimes by special delivery, said County News Center.
“The holiday event went even better than we could have imagined since it’s the most families we’ve ever selected and the first year we have hosted the families at our office. As you may imagine, it is really wonderful to see how we can all make a difference for families in need,” said San Diego County Probation Chief Adolfo Gonzales. “We want our officers to have a positive impact in our communities.”
San Diego County Probation, Volunteers in Probation Inc. (a nonprofit charitable group dedicated to helping probationers and at-risk youth) and local car clubs teamed up earlier this month to hold a car show and toy drive to collect for families in need.
Children getting toys ranged from 3 months to 16 years of age. Probation clients and their children and students in Probation’s Leadership Academy program at four schools adopted by the department were referred to take part.
Probation then contacted the families to verify circumstances, the number of family members, and ages and gender for children.
The main distribution took place in South County in Probation’s lobby and Santa’s toy workshop, a Chula Vista conference room taken over by Probation’s elves.
They filled it with toys, letting each child choose one and then visit with Santa. Meanwhile in the next room, parents received a holiday ham and meal bundle and a wrapped toy for each child to open on Christmas.
If not for the donations, Christmas might have been a source of stress and disappointment for these struggling families.
“We had one of our clients tell us that ‘This is all my kids are getting because we are trying to get back on our feet,’ and that is the reality for some families. That is the reason why we’re doing this,” said said Mayra Nunez, Probation community engagement liaison.
In North County, Probation officers and volunteers loaded up Probation vehicles and fancy local low-riders or vintage cars with toys and food deliveries for families who could not make the 30-minute drive to South County.
