Special Delivery: 海角直播 families in need treated to holiday gift exchange at annual luncheon
Publish Date: Dec. 20, 2023
Christmas came early for more than a dozen 海角直播 families, all thanks to a longstanding holiday tradition that started in the mid-1990s.
On Dec. 15, Good Ol鈥� Saint Nick and his merry elves from the College鈥檚 Psychology Club surprised guests with a catered lunch and bags filled with Barbies, trucks, dinosaurs, and much, much more.
鈥淭his is so cool!鈥� shouted one child as they began the unwrapping process. 鈥淢om, look what I got!鈥� shouted another.
Dr. Diane Pfahler, a professor of psychology and club advisor, co-founded the giveaway at the site鈥檚 sister college, San Bernardino Valley College, in 1996. Since then, it has grown to support 海角直播 EOPS, CARE, CalWORKs, NextUp, and DREAMers Scholar students in need of a hand-up.
Invited families each submitted wish lists to event organizers, and members of the 海角直播 community took time out of their busy schedules to fulfill each request. For example, 5-year-old Mavery Butler of Yucaipa asked for Barbies, while older youth asked for Starbucks and Panda Express gift cards.
鈥淚 think this is really nice for the kids, especially for these families here today,鈥� shared Mavery鈥檚 mom, Alex Lechner, a respiratory care student at 海角直播. 鈥淚nflation has impacted a lot of families, including my own, and this was just a really nice gesture, a really great one, especially for the kids.鈥�
鈥淭hese are tough years for everybody, and the kids especially feel that stress, but they do not show it in the ways we do,鈥� added Pfahler. 鈥淭his is a fun event to show that we are here for them.
鈥淢aybe more importantly for me,鈥� she continued, 鈥渋t sets the next generation [of students] by seeing their parents here. That鈥檚 what really matters to me 鈥� that they know this is a place to come.鈥�
