Davis Elementary

“This year we were able to add a second school to deliver toys to. The children did not know Santa was coming so when they were coming in to meet him they were chanting his name. The kids’ eyes lit up as they received the gifts. Most of the children said thank you, and some of them were silent in awe and unbelief that they were meeting Santa and receiving a gift. The teachers would not stop saying thank you and asking who we were and why we would bring such generous gifts. All classes were able to take a picture with Santa. We delivered 650 beautiful brand new toys – one for each child at Davis Elementary School.”

[Keren Alvarado]

Monte Vista Elementary School in Costa Mesa

The children of Monte Vista had Christmas cards that they delivered to Santa. Two of them said:

“Dear Newport Church,
We appreciate the special gifts you have given us.
You have certainly made this holiday season much more fun for us and our families.
Thank you from the bottom our of our hearts,
The First Graders of Room 12”

“Dear Newport Church,
We are writing to thank you for coming to Monte Vista school and bringing us gifts.
We appreciate the friendly elves that delivered the gifts.
Your church members are very thoughtful and kind.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Duncan’s  3rd Graders”

We delivered 850 beautiful brand new toys – one for each child at Monte Vista Elementary School.

[100 of the children received 2 toys]

Holiday Hampers Delivered to Families at Illuminations Motel Housing for Homeless Families

“Going door-to-door to each family also brought smiles to our many faces, because we were walking around with huge red bags filled with presents. The people were so appreciative of ANYTHING that we could bring to them! It was fun being able to knock on the door and surprise them with all the goodies.” [Danny Jepsen]

“A little boy named Ryan (about 6 years old) was so precious when we gave him the entire red bag full of presents, and his mom allowed him to open one of the gifts before Christmas :)  Being able to see his face light up when he saw the bag of gifts just melted all of our hearts! His reaction made all our efforts worthwhile. It was that moment that we truly felt the impact of what our actions were doing in this small community “ [Danny Jepsen]

“The gratitude on the faces of the recipients was priceless - they were so appreciative! One lady invited us in and offered us water. She told us through one of our Spanish speaking team that she was so grateful and couldn't believe we would come and bring them gifts!” [Nicole Andresen]

“Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this amazing day. I was in a group that delivered gifts to families. It really shocked me to see that not one of those houses had a single gift under their tree. If it wasn't for the gifts we delivered, those kids wouldn't have anything to open this Christmas. It was awesome to see how excited all the kids were to see us…. There were a lot of special moments today, but one of my favorites was definitely when a 5 year old boy said, 'Oops, I accidentally opened this one', as he was tearing away the paper. He played with that toy the entire time we were there. It is truly a blessing to be part of this church; A church that is happy to be the hands and feet of His body. I thank God for all the beautiful hearts at Newport Church :-)” [Denisse Topete]

A couple of teams said some of the families had moved on but other families had moved into the motel facility for homeless families. This meant that we were able to distribute all the big red bags to others who weren’t expecting anything! Most of these families have small children and they had no presents at all for them. [Hannah Kennedy]

Holiday Hampers Delivered to Families in Need in our Local Community

Story #1
“This year we had the privilege of delivering gifts to families out in the community. We had no idea what a heart warming, humbling experience it would be. Our team arrived at the first apartment, not really knowing what to expect. We knocked on the door and were greeted by a father with a BIG smile on his face. He was shortly joined by a shy wife and 4 children. We handed them the big red bag of gifts and the bag of food, chatted very briefly and then we were pretty much on our way. Before we left though, I caught a glimpse of the mom, who hadn't said much at all, and her beautiful brown eyes were filled with tears. What a beautiful picture of the "Why" behind the "What". As we walked away from the apartment we heard the kids (who were extremely quiet before) shouting and happily yelling things like "WOOOOWWW!!!" " LOOK AT THAT" "Check out my toys!"...AMAZING that something we view as so simple, can have such a huge impact!” [Ashley Martin]

Story #2
“All the families our group visited today were very thankful and surprised that they be given a bag full gifts and food, but it is the first family that stands out in my mind the most. As our group awkwardly stood on the steps of that first house I realized that I had no idea what to expect. We were greeted at the door by a very confused Mother that spoke little English.  After several explanations, her son came to the door yelling "GIFT!" stretched out his arms, and hugged every person in our group without even a hesitation.  His mother had no idea we were coming, but that little boy (Andre) seem to know and have faith that this was the plan the whole time.” [Carrie Zahradnik]

Las Palmas

For the first time we knocked on residents' doors to give them a cookie, ornament pressie and a card made by our kids, and after that, had caroling in the lobby.  One precious man took out his wallet and tried to give us money. When we thanked him and said we couldn't accept it, he asked where he could mail a donation. We told him we loved him and wanted to give him a gift. Another precious man asked if we knew his wife who lives in Recollections ( the Alzheimer’s ward) , and asked if we could give her a cookie. We assured him that we visit her often and always bring cookies! Santa Bob gave residents a thrill when he knocked at their doors and said, "Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas. It's Santa!" [Allison Johnson]

Christmas Banquet for the Women & Children at the Women’s Transitional Living Center

“The Christmas celebration at WTLC was really great. There was a Santa Moment for each family, where Santa and his elves personally handed each individual their gifts. Most of the kids loved Santa (some were unsure who he was) :).  All the kids loved their toys, especially a little girl who received a princess gown - she wore it to lunch, she loved it so much! When the families were then escorted to the new dining room for a really great meal prepared by the team. They were greeted at the door with some holiday punch, then served a plated meal of ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Then they finished with a piece of pumpkin pie. It all seriously smelled so yummy!  One mom only gets 4hrs a weekend to see her two little boys and that landed on today while we were there, so it was really great that during that time they could have Santa moment with mom and a great Christmas meal. The whole process went so smoothly and everyone was very excited, happy and thankful for the whole thing. What a privilege to be a part of it!
[Lindsey Strelecki]

Our teams were so blessed to be part of it!  Some of the comments we received from our team were:

“What a blessing it is to be a blessing!
Can't wait for next year!” [Ashley Martin]
“Thank you for the privilege of allowing me to be a part of it.   
It was an honor and a lot of fun!” [Evelynn Korszyk]