For many of the central Santa Ana families KidWorks serves, being able to purchase Christmas gifts is not always financially possible. Their limited funds go to rent and groceries. That’s why the KidWorks Christmas store has been such a blessing for hundreds of our families for the past 17 years.
The Christmas Store offers an affordable option for families, contributing to the dignity and pride they experience in providing holiday gifts for one another. We are empowering families and helping to restore hope in a community facing a multitude of challenges.
“What makes the store so special to these parents is that it offers them a sense of being able to provide for their families,” says Sonia Rios-Guzman, KidWorks’ Parent Engagement Coordinator. “They are able to buy gifts for their children to make the holidays brighter.”
Thanks to our corporate and church partners, almost 2,000 toys were collected in the months leading up to Christmas.
“We were incredibly blessed to partner with so many amazing organizations this holiday season,” says SueLynn Kim, Partnership and Donor Relations Coordinator at KidWorks. “Not only did we have a record breaking number of toy drives, the volunteers were phenomenal, making everything run smoothly.”
A huge thank you to all our Christmas Store partners including Cisco, Mercer Advisors, Rimrock Capital, Liberty Debt Relief, Wavestream, David Pyle, Chase Offield Family Foundation, Experian, Sun Family Foundation, Newport Coast Pharmacy, Marconi Museum, Innovative Results, McFadden Public Market, Davis Farr, St. Andrews Church, Mariners Church, and U.S. Bank. We also were blessed to have volunteers from the KidWorks Board of Directors, Fund Development Committee, Young Professionals Committee and other friends of KidWorks donate their time.
Christmas Store Highlights Include:
🎁 16 Partners held toy drives
🎁 1,913 toys and gift card were donated
🎁 129 volunteers served at Christmas Store
🎁 368 hours volunteered
🎁 458 KidWorks families served
“The real gift of Christmas has always been to be able to give rather than to receive,” says Lisa Gels, associate Director of Development. “Not only did all of our Christmas store supporters give, they also provided the means for parents to give as well, no matter what their economic circumstances might be. For that we are so very grateful!
