Thousands of children get Christmas gifts from CVRM
Santa and his elves made a special stop in the desert Saturday morning.
Darla Burkett, executive director at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, said more than 3,000 Valley families lined up for the annual holiday toy giveaway.
“I had a little boy earlier tell me he spent two nights here, outside, with his family in a tent. I did notice, yesterday, when I left here for a moment, that there were people lined up all the way in the back,” Burkett said.
The event was a Christmas miracle for many, and was in the planning process for a number of months, according to Burkett.
“Really since August, in setting up businesses, asking for donations allowing us to put toy boxes in businesses, churches…We’re just so grateful for our community for being able to do this. We could never do it on our own,” Burkett said.
The toy giveaway was a group effort. Volunteers like Colon assisted children in choosing their perfect Christmas gift. Colon says she knows firsthand just how stressful the holidays can be for families.
“We had a hard time sometimes for my parents to give me Christmas and I know how it feels as a child, not to have something. Just the fact that they’re getting that one or two presents that they may not get at home makes all the difference, because they will take that with them in their hearts,” said Colon.
