GIFT-WRAP STARS LINE UP TO HELP THE NEEDY.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
It was a beautiful sight, this human chain stretching down Pierce Pierce may refer to: Places
More than 1,400 children and adults from local churches, schools, service clubs and neighborhood apartment complexes waiting for the warehouse doors of the Children's Hunger Fund to open so they could get to work. Inside, on tables that ran the length of a football field, 100,000 stuffed animals
A stuffed animal is toy animal stuffed with straw, beans, cotton or other similar materials. Some stuffed animals are very old – home made cloth dolls stuffed with straw go back to at least the had to be gift-wrapped so they could get to some of the neediest families in this city by Christmas Eve. For three hours, kids from some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. sat side by side with kids living in some of the lowest-income neighborhoods - gift-wrapping presents for children they did not know. Not by name, anyway. ``I know they are very poor and that getting this stuffed animal on Christmas is going to mean a lot to them,'' said Zennetta Taylor, who was there with her friend, Mahadia Griffin from the Chatsworth High School drill team. The girls were driven here by Zennetta's grandmother, Bonnetta White, a member of the Church and Temple Deliverance Ministry In charismatic Christianity, deliverance ministries are activities carried out by individuals or groups aimed at solving problems related to demons and spirits, especially possession. in North Hollywood. Bonnetta smiled the smile of a wise woman Saturday morning, looking around this warehouse where a lot more than gift-wrapping was going on. ``I want my babies to know how fortunate they are, and that no matter what you have or don't have in life, there are children out there with less, a lot less, who need our help,'' she said. A few tables away, 39 students from Viewpoint Middle School in Calabasas and another 10 from the private Buckley School in Sherman Oaks wrapped Christmas presents with 35 members of the Greater Community Baptist Church in Pacoima, and half a dozen teenage girls living in the same apartment complex a few miles away in Pacoima. Nichole Hindin and Kelsey Lax, both 12, had come with their school from Calabasas to give something back, the girls said. Lilliana Alamillo, 16, and her friends living in Pacoima's Casa Bien Apartments were here for the same reason. ``We know where these toys will end up, and it makes you feel really good inside to be part of this,'' Lilliana said. ``It doesn't matter where you live. You should help.'' Nine years ago, when the Children's Hunger Fund kicked off its first Holiday Toy Wrapping day, there were 300 stuffed animals to be gift-wrapped on half a dozen tables by a handful of volunteers. ``This year, in all, we'll gift-wrap 200,000 toys to be delivered to more than 450 local agencies requesting them for needy need·y adj. need·i·er, need·i·est 1. Being in need; impoverished. See Synonyms at poor. 2. Wanting or needing affection, attention, or reassurance, especially to an excessive degree. families,'' said Dave Phillips, president of the Children's Hunger Fund. Worldwide, this nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. charitable organization This article is about charitable organizations. For other uses of the word charity, see Charity. A charitable organization (also known as a charity) is an organization with charitable purposes only. that feeds the hungry will distribute 18 million holiday presents to children in Third World countries, as well. The toys are all donated do·nate v. do·nat·ed, do·nat·ing, do·nates v.tr. To present as a gift to a fund or cause; contribute. v.intr. To make a contribution to a fund or cause. by major corporations and businesses - wrapped by children helping children. Most of the presents are stuffed animals, just like the 60,000 Courage and Rescue puppies honoring firefighters that were gift-wrapped in this warehouse Saturday. ``Many of the children getting these toys are from broken homes,'' Phillips said. ``They need something to connect with, something to hold.'' So, that's what kids from Faith Community Church in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , Valley Christian Outreach Outreach is an effort by an organization or group to connect its ideas or practices to the efforts of other organizations, groups, specific audiences or the general public. Church in Arleta and Placerita Baptist College in Newhall were doing Saturday. The same thing another 35 members of the Shepherd of the Hills Church in Granada Hills, 24 teenagers from Communidad Cristiana Church in Canoga Park, and hundreds more children and adults from other churches, schools and organizations all over the Valley were doing. Forming a human chain on Pierce Street in Pacoima. Waiting to get inside a warehouse so they could give some kids not as lucky as they are something to hold for Christmas. For more information on Children's Hunger Fund programs, log on to www.childrenshungerfund.org or call the Pacoima-based nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. at (818) 899-5122. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Bonnetta White, left, joins her granddaughter Zennetta Taylor, center, and her friend Mahadia Griffin to wrap presents. (2) More than 1,400 volunteers work to wrap donated stuffed animals for the Children's Hunger Fund on Saturday morning in Pacoima. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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