Over 50 client families with more than 100 children attended GMHC’s annual Holiday Party on December 15, which featured an eagerly anticipated toy distribution.
“We want to make sure every child can get a gift for the holidays,” said GMHC’s Senior Substance Use Program Specialist Christina Melendez. “Around this time of year, it’s hard. Their families may not be able to provide that. Every child should have a toy.”
Most of the participating clients are living with HIV and AIDs. They also could have mental health, substance use, or housing issues, Melendez said, and some are undocumented. She coordinates the event with Managing Director for Mental Health and Substance Use Services Chet Balram and Director of Community Relations Krishna Stone.
“We want to ease the burden on the families a little bit—to give them one day to just enjoy what’s going on with their children,” she said. “We provide a little Christmas smile and holiday cheer for them and their babies to give them some holiday hope.”
Melendez said her favorite moment every year is reuniting with the children. “We’ve watched some of these kids grow up before our very eyes,” she said. “I love to see the smiles on their faces and their excitement when they get in the toy room—and then the smiles on their families’ faces, because they were able to get the kids something.”
We are grateful to the SoMWA Foundation and its founder, Shacazia Brown, for making this event possible through its annual toy drive for our client families. Our other special sponsor is Rabin Martin, which contributed funds for the food and extra toys. GMHC staff also donated to supply gift cards for the older children.
GMHC staff and volunteers got into the spirit of things. “We’re like little elves. We wear holiday sweaters and Christmas hats,” Melendez said. “We want to bring that warmth—to let our client families know we are here for them, and it’s going to be OK, one day at a time.”
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, GMHC took special precautions for this year’s event, since many of our clients are immunocompromised. Masks were required, and the agency provided to-go meals instead of serving a congregate dinner, as it had in the past.
Melendez and other staff escorted children to the toy room where volunteers helped them pick out a toy of their choice. Children ages 13 and up received a $25 gift card instead, she said, “so they could purchase whatever their heart desires.”
Our staff then returned the children to their parents in our dining room, which was festively decorated with a tree for the occasion. Families posed for keepsake photos at a holiday photo booth and picked up a delicious to-go meal from Caridad Restaurant. Several clients without children pitched in to help with food distribution.
“We provide carfare so they are able to get back home—until we can do it again next year,” Melendez said.
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