Galilee Center gifting local kids with bicycles, toys in Christmas Eve giveaway

A local nonprofit will be giving away several hundred bicycles along with upwards of 1,000 toys today to an expected 1,500 kids in Mecca.

The Galilee Center is slated to host its 10th annual toy and bike giveaway at the center's headquarters, 66101 Hammond Road, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Seven hundred kids will each receive a bike, and the rest can expect two to three toys each, according to organizers.

Since 2010, the nonprofit Galilee Center in Mecca has provided needy families in the eastern Coachella Valley with food, clothing, rental and utility assistance, along with temporary shelter and laundry services for migrant farmworkers.

Anybody wishing to volunteer can arrive at 9 a.m., or email Torres-Hilario at ltorres@galileecenter.org, or call 760-396-9100.

If lieu of donating time or toys, organizers welcome general donations. A gift of $25 can feed a family of four for four days, according to organizers.

To donate, go to https://galileecenter.org/donations/donate-form/.