Writing you each January has become a tradition I cherish because it gives me, personally, an opportunity to thank the wonderful children of Malibu and their families for their incredible help, generosity, and, most of all, their love.
This Christmas was truly magical for the homeless and at-risk children we serve throughout the year.
Local and neighboring families, schools, churches and businesses came together to insure that these needy children and their families would have their wishes granted by Santa this Christmas.
Juan Cabrillo, Point Dume Elementary and Webster School, Malibu High, Children’s Creative Workshop and Wonder Years Daycare students participated in a huge toy drive. They also came with their parents to help at our four holiday parties.
We had these fantastic holiday parties in December at Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, where over 600 children and their families attended and were treated to a great breakfast and lunch, a fantastic live deejay, games, prizes, and finally, were given a bag filled with eight to ten gifts – all brand new, all donated by our friends and sponsors. Santa called out each name, and they each got to sit on his lap, and received a Polaroid to take home.
There was also a great crafts project each day, two days of which were sponsored by Alexandria Nassikas. We had a fantastic magician, Charlie Mount, volunteer his time, and Bob and Nancy Salka and Dynasty Fashions also provided face-painters and the Grinch and Frosty the Snowman characters.
California Supply, The Salkas, Dynasty Fashions, KAYO of California, The Kiwanis Club of Malibu, and Topson-Downs of California did an amazing job of sponsoring these events.
Each child made out their very own wish list. Over 250 scooters were purchased, hundreds of CD players were procured, and our volunteers and friends purchased specific gifts by hand. Thousands of toys were donated through toy drives and generous friends. A lot of work went into making sure that each child received exactly what he or she wanted for Christmas – a difficult feat, but well worth the effort, once we witnessed the glow on the children’s faces, and their incredible smiles.
Our special thanks to John and Ellen Poyer of Topson-Downs and their co-workers, Bob and Nancy Salka, Dynasty Fashions and their co-workers, Cha-Cha and Mark Weinstein of California Supply and their co-workers, Marla and Jeffrey Michaels of Kayo and their co-workers, Nidre Winger, John Paola and the members of the Malibu Kiwanis Club, Violet at California Supply and Noonie Guzman at Dynasty Fashions, David Silverstein, Jaana Pekkanen and Mark Kramer of Action-Agape, Mario Arrevalo & Family, Dorothy Istel, Ruth Marsden-Girl Scout Troop No. 499 and their co-leader Dorie Woodworth, Xandro Donado, DreamWorks and their staff. Michael & Michelle Chiklis, Cathy and John Cygan, Carol Feikls, Neil & Pat Giraldo and their family, Sol Lehr of Lehr & Black, Janine McEuen, The Michaels Family, Alexandria Nassikas, Janna Pekkanen, Diane Perez, the Poyer Family, Jorge Rabaso, Judith Siler of In Celebration, David Silverstein, Laura Smith, Bradley Solomon, the Weinstein Family and the Wirht Family also greatly participated as well.
Individual families were also adopted by local families this Christmas with financial assistance and individual, personalized gifts by such great friends and Angels as John and Geri Cusenza, Gina Armfield, Ruth Berliner, Lisa and Bill Curtis, John and Cathy Cygan, Jerry Engel, Mark Harris, Jennifer Kurtz, Kelly Meyer, Courtney Olejak, Mark Shultz, Fred and Mary-Anne Segal, Pam van Ireland and Shari, John Whelpley, and the crew and staff at Boston Public.
Fantastic, brand new toys, shoes and clothing also came from Arts in Education Council, Aardman Films, Agape Church, Best Alternative, Maria Bello, Clout Ride Shop, Disney, DreamWorks SKG, Blackbird Films, Funrise, Hasbro, Reebok International, Ronald McDonald House and local Malibu families. Melanie Trivette-Wizan and Margaret Hauptman, along with some of their co-workers at Coldwell Banker Realty, contributed funds to buy scooters for many of the children, as well as sponsoring families through our Adopt-A-Family program.
As shipments of toys began to arrive from all of our friends, we realized we needed a facility to wrap and store these many items until the Holiday events. Our wonderful friends Ritchie Geisel of Ability First made his facility Camp Joan Mier available to us. Our special thanks to him, his camp director Kelly Privitt and her kind staff there. We are so thankful to them for their wonderful help.
We completed our Holiday Program by delivering a U-Haul truck filled with thousands of items of new clothing, toys and gifts to Faith in Christ Ministries on 46th Street and Western, while other volunteers delivered to shelters in Venice and downtown L.A.
I am always so awed by God’s grace, and I am so moved by your generosity and your love. You always demonstrate God’s grace at work. Thank you again for making holiday season such a perfect memory for so many wonderful children and their families.
Maria D’Angelo and The Children’s Lifesaving Foundation