Our Christmas service project was held on Saturday, December 22 at a housing community in Los Angeles called Ujima Village. Ujima is a County-operated facility for low income families and seniors. There are about 100 families, 60 seniors and perhaps 600 children living there. When Heartfelt first came to Ujima for our Christmas 2002 Service Project, it was their first experience of there being enough gifts for every child in the Village.
Christmas 2003 was no exception. With more than 100 volunteers signed up, we went to Ujima Village bringing Santa and 1,000 toys and gifts due to the generosity of wonderful donors. Some volunteers took over the kitchen and made delicious spaghetti for hundreds of hungry people, and baked and served hundreds of incredible, hot chocolate chip cookies.
Other volunteers gave their hearts and hands so willingly in delivering an amazing day. We had 2 popcorn machines, a petting zoo, 2 ponies, 2 Moon Bounces, face painting, games, crafts, photos with Santa, and a truly festive, heartfelt time with the folks at Ujima. And while this was a wonderful project, the best was yet to come as we soon discovered.
After the project we still had hundreds of toys left over and that’s when the fun really began — finding out what God had planned for those toys. Our first stop was Toys For Tots in Compton, where we filled their bare coffers and brought unexpected joy to the local Sheriff’s station, and hopefully to the children in their area. Then we spent the weekend contacting various agencies we’d heard were low on toys to see if toys were still needed anywhere.
It turned out that every agency we phoned was in dire need of toys for the children they serve! Some had Christmas parties coming up and no toys to give out. So Christmas Monday was spent receiving the following agencies and letting them “shop” for toys for all of their children. The loaves and fishes parable abounded, because those toys just never gave out until late at night.
Here are the agencies who received Heartfelt’s overflow of toys:
1. Salvation Army Transitional Housing facility – for homeless families in transition – 100 toys
2. LA Citicamp – serving low income boys and girls – 150 toys and gifts
3. Boys and Girls Club of Venice – 100+ toys and Christmas paper goods and candy for party
4. Central City Nazarene Church of Skid Row – for homeless men, women and children – 200 toys, new clothes, hundreds of new socks and T-shirts, and 250 homeless packs
5. Rev. Hector Perez – Church Adonai – serving low income families in L.A. – 100+ toys, candy and Christmas paper goods for party, 25 backpacks for youth
6. Pastor Benny – minister of 2 large but poor churches in East LA, and Tijuana, MX – 150+ toys, used toys, new and used clothing, books, and hundreds of miscellaneous gifts
7. Project Angel Food – serving people living with AIDS – 20 boxes of Christmas candy
8. Several low-income or homeless families – toys, new girl’s bike, new boy’s bike, new clothes, and gifts for parents.
And on Christmas Eve, more volunteers distributed 100 toys, gifts and candy to children at Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital, Santa Monica Hospital and St. John’s Hospital.
So we are filled with gratitude for the abundance God and His helpers extend to Heartfelt to extend to others in need.
In Loving Service,
Patti Rayner
