On December 5, 2013, over 50 EOPS/CalWORKs children received generous gifts at our annual Winter Celebration. This event has become a holiday tradition not only for the EOPS/CalWORKs students, but also for the entire Skyline College community. Every year faculty/staff and students look forward to picking up cards with the name and age of the child they wish to donate a gift to. At the event, children of EOPS/CalWORKs students were invited to take a picture with Santa and shared the spirit of gratitude. This year, Transfer Center, Student Assistant Victor Moran put on the Santa suit and delighted everyone with his sense of humor. Santa’s helper, Student Assistant, James Salonga Rodriguez put on the Elf costume with a pointy hat full of jingle bells, invited every child to personally whisper his/her holiday wish to Santa.
It was an unforgettable evening for our students and especially the children who played games and drew thank you notes for the sponsors. It turned out into a group-singing event when the Transfer Center, Program Services Coordinator, Michele Haggar and Counselor-Coordinator, Javier Urena spontaneously started singing-along traditional holiday carols. Everyone tried to follow up with the lyrics while clapping and laughing. We would like to acknowledge the extra help received from our student assistants who wrapped up gifts and made sure every child was included in Santa’s list. It was a cultural experience for some of our new students who had never shared or experienced such a special moments with other students. We want to sincerely thank all the sponsors for their spirit of giving and making the holiday brighter for every child.
Article and Photos by Javier Urena.
