Bombara said that 408 baskets in all were packed and delivered throughout the city by an army of volunteers.“What struck me most of all was when we were packing the baskets, we had help from 6 year olds to 80 year olds, all there,” among the over 150 volunteers and Rotarians. “There were a lot of teens who helped and it was really neat to see them get involved. . .they were essential to the project.”Bombara said the first stop her team made early Christmas Eve morning was a house “where they didn’t have anything at all for Christmas. The woman kept hugging us and saying ‘Thank you, thank you’ while her kids’ eyes got real big,” as they saw the basket filled with food and toys. “It was really touching. . .I’ll never forget it.”Each basket given to the pre-screened families included the traditional fixings for Christmas dinner as well as plenty of leftovers. Each basket also contained toys for each child in the family matched to the child’s age and gender.Community support has always been strong for the annual Rotary Club Christmas Basket Project, from members of the Future Farmers of America and Scout troops that collect canned goods to service clubs and organizations that offer donations and labor. Some groups, such as the residents of Hillview Estates, collect toys while others assist in the packing and delivery days held at the Community Center leading up to Christmas Eve.The Rotary Christmas Basket Project doesn’t end Dec. 26th, said Bombara: “We’re already making plans for next year!”
Community comes through for Rotary Christmas Baskets
December 31, 2003
Santa Paula News
The generous Santa Paula community stepped forward to assist the Rotary Club in delivering over 400 Christmas Baskets to needy area families, ensuring that each child celebrated the joy that is the season.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe generous Santa Paula community stepped forward to assist the Rotary Club in delivering over 400 Christmas Baskets to needy area families, ensuring that each child celebrated the joy that is the season.Rotarians and community volunteers were up at the crack of dawn Wednesday morning to deliver baskets throughout the city, trucks rumbling away from the Community Center loaded with baskets and returning empty of everything but memories.“What a tremendous project!” said Rotary President Maria Bombara.“Thank you to all who participated. . .we couldn’t have done it without you. We had a great time and all the families were very appreciative of the baskets,” especially the children who each received a present picked solely for them.Bombara had issued an urgent plea just the week before Christmas that donations were needed to help buy toys.“We had a flurry of last minute donations,” as well as receiving some toys from Toys for Tots, the Marine Reserve program that this year had experienced dwindling donations.
