Sharing their selves

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- They gathered up Barbies, race cars and balls. They

brought in canned food and clothes from the mall.

Each package was wrapped with bows on them all.

As the presents came in, the pile grew tall.

“I brought a sleeping bag and little Sesame Street toys,” said

11-year-old Louis Truxton.

Students in two Kaiser Elementary School classes put the finishing

touches on Christmas packages Friday before leaving for the holiday

break. Students in fourth- and sixth-grade classes at Kaiser “adopted’ a

family for Christmas through the Share Our Selves program.

Share Our Selves is a nonprofit organization based in Costa Mesa that

provides services to needy members of the community. Each Christmas they

have a special “Adopt a Family” toy and food drive that helps more than

1,000 families each year.

When parent Nancy Jackson suggested to her son’s sixth-grade teacher,

Jackie Scott, that the class become involved, she loved the idea. So did

the students.

“It makes me feel good that I’m giving people things that let them have a

good Christmas,” Louis said.

Jackson was so excited by the program that she arranged for her

fourth-grade son’s classroom to adopt a family, too.

Now, after a month of collecting food for a Christmas dinner, toys and

rarely worn clothes, the students have gathered more than enough to

provide a merry Christmas.

“I brought hand-me-down clothes, a Barbie for the girl and a whole bunch

of race cars for the boys,” said 9-year-old Katie Kay.

In one of the adopted families there is a single mother who cares for two

children and three grandchildren. Typically, groups that adopt a family

are supposed to provide two gifts for each child.

Scott’s class collected enough for each child to have six presents.

“I like giving other kids a chance to have more things,” Katie said.

Nine-year-old Sloan Robinson brought two toys for each child herself and

food for the mom, she said.

“It makes me feel good to help people who don’t have what I have,” she

said.

Once everything was wrapped and ready to go it was loaded into Jackson’s

car for delivery.

But it’s not over yet. On Wednesday, Jackson will take the money, also

donated by students, and buy turkeys and all the trimmings to complete

the holiday cheer.