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Organization: Santa Clarita Valley Jaycees
Date: October 15, 2009
SCV Jaycees to Host 11th Annual Santa's Helpers
Saturday, Dec. 19, at Ice Station Valencia
'Tis the season to help a child in need! This holiday season, JCI Santa Clarita Valley (SCV Jaycees) aim to do just that — help a child in need. On Saturday, December 19, the SCV Jaycees will host the 11th Annual Santa's Helpers event at Ice Station Valencia at 6:00PM. This year's goal is to assist 200 local families by providing them with toys for the holiday season.
The SCV Jaycees coordinate a month-long toy drive with 100 local businesses who host donation boxes around the community. They also coordinate efforts with other local non-profit agencies serving children, including the Child and Family Center, Michael Hoefflin Foundation and Single Mothers Outreach, to produce a list of children eligible to receive the toys.
Once the toys are collected, organized and wrapped, the children are invited to attend a special party at Ice Station Valencia on Saturday, December 19 at 6:00PM. Children then have the opportunity to ice skate, eat, make crafts and meet Santa Claus. Each child leaves the event with a bag full of wrapped gifts and a smile.
Every year there is a story that touches your heart, like the time a young deaf boy signed to Santa. For the first time in the boy's life Santa signed back. The young boy was finally able to really tell Santa what he wanted. Another heart-warming experience was when a newly widowed father watched his little girl get that bike she wanted so badly, but he couldn't afford.
To make this event possible, donations and volunteers are needed:
• Toy Donations: Local businesses can request to have a donation box delivered to their offices to collect toys.
• Financial Donations: Financial donations help defray the costs for the event and supplies. Additionally, they allow the SCV Jaycees to purchase gift certificates to places such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Westfield Valencia Town Center for the older children who are often overlooked in the toy drive. Donations can be made by clicking on the Santa's Helpers Link at www.scvjaycees.com.
• Volunteers: There are many opportunities to volunteer for this event. Volunteers get together to organize groups to drop the donation boxes off and pick them up once they are full. After all of the toys are collected, volunteers sort and wrap the gifts. Volunteers are also needed the day of the event at Ice Station Valencia to help run the event.
About Santa's Helpers:
This signature SCV Jaycees event began in 1998, when the SCV Jaycees decided they wanted to run a one-of-a-kind holiday event that would benefit disadvantaged children in the community. After exploring the many toy drives out there, the SCV Jaycees thought it would be nice to add a personal touch and create an event where the children could have a good time and even meet Santa!
