St. Vincent De Paul of Los Angeles Provides Toys, Shoes, and 400 Meals to Struggling Families in time for Christmas
(Los Angeles, Calf.)– On Saturday, December 12, 2020, St. Vincent de Paul of Los Angeles, in collaboration with California Highway Patrol, Shoe Palace, Navidad En El Barrio, Inner-City Arts, and the Allen Lund Company safely provided families with chicken, groceries, books, new toys, and new shoes via SVdPLA’s Drive-Thru CHiPs4Kids Christmas Giveaway.
400 bags of food, over 800 new toys, and 200 new pairs of shoes were provided and distributed among 400 families in need across Greater Los Angeles. California Highway Patrol donated the toys. Shoe Palace donated the shoes. Navidad En El Barrio provided the food. Inner-City Arts donated their space, and the Allen Lund Company volunteered their hours.
The main event took place at Inner-City Arts, an educational program located in the heart of Skid Row that makes the arts accessible across all socio-economic boundaries. Over 100 families from the Inner-City Arts program attended our CHiPs4Kids Christmas Giveaway on December 12. Each family safely parked their car while volunteers loaded their trunks with the food, toys, books, and shoes. Meanwhile, Santa waived at the excited children through the car window.
While this drive-thru giveaway was happening at Inner-City Arts, part two of the event was happening at St. Vincent de Paul’s Los Angeles Thrift Store. From this location, 300 food baskets and over 600 toys were distributed to members of St. Vincent de Paul’s various chapters. Those members took the items and distributed them across the Greater Los Angeles area.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on already underserved communities. St. Vincent de Paul of Los Angeles and our partners, though facing our own challenges posed by COVID-19, have found a creative way to host our Annual Christmas Giveaway to help ease the burden. We hoped it provided a slice of comfort and joy within this exceptionally difficult year.
