Christmas Shared With the Needy

For 4-year-old Danette Trujillo, Santa Claus came 11 days early.

Danette got a doll with a miniature wardrobe at a Christmas party in San Juan Elementary School gymnasium, where toys were given to an estimated 2,000 children from needy and homeless South County families.

“She was being picky,” said Kathy Torrez of Dana Point, Danette’s mother. “She really wanted a mermaid.”

Torrez said she and her husband may not be able to afford any more gifts for Danette on Christmas Day.

“I don’t know what we can afford to buy,” said Torrez, who is out of work and whose husband has a part-time construction job. “We’re broke right now.”

Wearing a purple dress and her hair in pigtails, Danette ate cookies, had a cheek painted and played with her cousins.

“I like to see the kids smile,” Torrez said. “That is what really counts.”

The Christmas party was organized by the Orange County Red Cross and CUE Paging Corp. of Irvine, who had collected donated toys and recruited volunteers to help pass them out.

Inside the gymnasium, streams of children talked to Santa and Mrs. Claus while waiting in line for a toy.

“We have been planning for this event since last July,” said Penny Hughes, director of youth services for the county Red Cross chapter. The Red Cross holds toy drives throughout the year at county businesses and volunteer organizations for disaster relief victims.

Hughes said that because of the success of the toy drives and an increasing number of families who have experienced difficulty affording gifts, the second-annual holiday party has grown.

“We really try to fill the void for needy families,” Hughes said. “This year was very different. We have received a lot more calls from people who need help this year.”

A line of children and their parents stretched through the gymnasium’s double doors around the outside edge of the school and out to the street.

“We should have had two Santas here to get the kids through faster,” said Lisa Pruitt of Long Beach, who helped hand out toys. “There were volunteers sorting out toys all day yesterday. There is a lot of hard work that goes into this.”

“This is just one of those tough years for a lot of people,” said one woman who had two grandchildren in tow. “But this is really nice.”