HUNDREDS LINE UP FOR HOLIDAY FOOD AND TOY PROGRAM IN SAN JOSE

The economy is improving – but many families continue to struggle when working to make ends meet, particularly around the holidays.

So, what can you do?

DONATE! VOLUNTEER! GIVE CASH!

Students at Presentation High School in San Jose delivered bagels and warm drinks to the people lined up to receive holiday food and toys from Sacred Heart Community Service.  These young women were sooooo impressive! I know their parents are proud!

Here is the story I did earlier: MY STORY

Here is information on who Sacred Heart Community Service is, and how you can HELP

When you here organizers say, “every little bit counts,” they’re NOT making it up.  We witnessed, first-hand, the power of giving to those in need.

Hundreds of people braved the early morning chill Friday to register for holiday food and toys. They’re lined up outside a San Jose charity that helps the less fortunate in the heart of wealthy Silicon Valley.

Families started staking out a spot for the holiday food box and toy give away at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose Thursday night. The people at the front of the line showed up yesterday at 4 p.m. The line was more than three blocks long as of late Friday morning.

It’s first come, first serve. Virginia Hernandez has been here before, so she came early.

“Right now, with the economy it’s a little hard for a lot of families. Thank God we have a job, but it’s not enough,” said Virginia Hernandez.

Sacred Heart has been doing the giveaway for 50 years. This year, they hope to give away 4,000 Thanksgiving food boxes, 3,200 Christmas food boxes and three toys each to 5,500 kids.

To make that happen, they rely on donations & volunteers like the students at Presentation High School. The all-girls school brought warm food and hot drinks for the hundreds in line, but they say they’re the ones who received a gift.

“It’s amazing to hear that just passing bagels and passing coffee, can bring such a smile and joy to their faces,” said Jo Sanford of Presentation High School.

“Our holiday program truly comes together through the generosity of the people watching this at home,” Graciela Mann of Sacred Heart Community Service.

Organizers say while the tech industry is booming in the Silicon Valley, low income families are facing higher rents and other expenses, while their paycheck stays the same.

“Of the families that come to Sacred Heart for food, most are working, oftentimes more than one full-time job. It’s just that the numbers don’t add up,” said Mann.

Social service experts say the need this year, as every year, is great. To make this holiday special, it will take a community to step up where they’re needed most.

 

From Sacred Heart Community Service:

Thousands will register for our Holiday Food and Toy distribution program

(San Jose, CA – Nov 7, 2014)  “I haven’t been able to find full-time work yet, and the part-time jobs won’t pay the bills.” Over and over, we hear people telling us how difficult it is to live in our county.  Though the economy is supposedly growing, our customers are working hard while not making enough to live in high-priced Silicon Valley.

Of the reported 7,631 people who are homeless in Santa Clara County, at least 39% of them are children.  Says Executive Director Poncho Guevara, “While there has been some high-tech job growth in the area, this has not significantly improved the lives of low-income families that come to Sacred Heart for help. Hard working families face food and housing increases that are beyond the minimal wage increases they receive.”

For the last 50 years, Sacred Heart Community Service has been providing holiday food boxes to families that need help, making the Holidays a tradition that all families could celebrate.  This year we will distribute food boxes to 4,000 families at Thanksgiving, 3,200 at Christmas and 16,500 toys for 5,500 children.  We need help from individuals and organizations to Make Hope a Tradition for all families.

WHO:         Low-income families will line up to register for a Thanksgiving Food Box, a Christmas Food Box and for our Toy Box toy distribution program.

WHY:         Without this assistance, families would not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas as their neighbors do. Sacred Heart Community Service needs donations to make sure every family can Make Hope a Tradition.