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December 17, 2001
UCSC staffers show holiday spirit by helping needy
By Jennifer McNulty
Rachel Huff's office looks like Santa's workshop, piled high with toys for needy
children donated by her colleagues in UCSC's Physical Plant.
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| Physical Plant staffers have a tradition of "adopting" a family for
the holidays, providing food, clothing and other gifts. With some of the presents
are, from left, Rachel Huff, business coordinator, building and utility services;
Mike Hanson, superintendent for the Central Heating Plant; Lynne Riccio, administrative
assistant, and Jim West, senior superintendent, both of building and utility services.
Photo: Jennifer McNulty |
Every year, Physical Plant staff members team up to "adopt a family," buying
gifts, jackets, and food certificates for families in need during the holiday season.
Huff works with the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center to coordinate donors and recipients,
and wrapped gifts are distributed through local nonprofits that serve the homeless,
victims of domestic violence, and others.
"People in Physical Plant really step up to the plate," said Huff. "After
September 11, people have been saying, 'How can I help? How can I contribute to my
community?' This is one way."
Huff and her coworkers are some of the many UCSC staff members who give generously
to make the holidays festive. "Almost everyone participates, whether by buying
gifts, shopping, or wrapping presents," said Huff. "It's nice."
Campus firefighters have teamed up with their counterparts in the city of Santa
Cruz to collect new, unwrapped "toys for tots." Collection barrels are
in the fire station and at the police department, said fire apparatus engineer Troy
Souza, who is coordinating the campus toy drive.
"I came back from my four days off and toys were overflowing the barrel,"
said Souza, who took over the project this year and whose own kids, ages 11 and 13,
dropped off toys just after Thanksgiving.
"Kids hit a soft spot in you, and during the holidays, I always think of
children in need who don't get what others get," said Souza. "This is a
way to put a smile on a kid's face."
Custodian Kevin Barry put smiles on lots of faces when he helped cook Thanksgiving
dinner for the homeless at the Santa Cruz Veterans Hall, a tradition he started three
or four years ago.
"I saw an ad in the paper that they needed cooks," said Barry, a former
commercial chef. "Now they call me every year. It's great. And it's sad, too,
to realize that all these people don't have anywhere else to go for their holiday
dinners. We're blessed. We could go anywhere we want."
Payroll personnel supervisor Myriah Jasper works year-round with Grandma Sue's
Community Project, a neighborhood-based organization that operates a food bank and
provides other services for the working poor. In September, the focus was on getting
back-to-school supplies for children; now the focus is on Christmas.
"We get requests right up to Christmas Day," said Jasper. "These
are working people who earn $6 or $8 an hour and are raising four or five kids. Christmas
is a really hard time for these folks, and we just do as much as we can."
Jasper is distributing "wish stars" with specific gift requests (bus
passes, warm jackets, and shoes are frequent needs) as well as accepting cash contributions
to the project. She has some suggestions for those who wonder what's popular with
teenagers, too.
"They really like gift certificates that you can get at Safeway for places
like Blockbuster, the Wherehouse, and even Office Max, if you can believe it,"
said Jasper. "A $10 gift certificate is really a big deal for them. It really
is."
Kresge residential life coordinator Ginny Fitzmaurice collects toys for a Santa
Cruz Parks and Recreation toy drive, and she said her UCSC colleagues are always
eager to participate.
"People here are really anxious to contribute," said Fitzmaurice. "It's
not hard to ask, and it's not hard to get contributions. People are eager to have
an avenue to express their generosity."
For three years, Larry Trujillo has participated in the Christmas Project, which
distributes gifts to residents of migrant labor camps. Project volunteers ask each
child and adult what he or she wants for Christmas, then pass those specifics along
to donors, who know the first name, age, and sex of each individual for whom they're
shopping. On Christmas Eve, volunteers transport the gifts to the camps, where "Santa
Claus" distributes the presents.
"It's an opportunity to give some presents to kids that really need them,"
said Trujillo, director of the Chicano Latino Student Life Resource Center. "Last
year, we were able to buy a couple of bikes for two kids who never would've gotten
them otherwise." The dealers helped, too, selling the bikes at cost and donating
helmets and locks.
"I can just imagine what this little girl, Christina, must have thought when
Santa Claus gave her this hot pink bike with all the luxury stuff on it," said
Trujillo, who this year will shop for an 11-year-old boy who wants a remote-control
car. "It's a great project," he said. "It's really rewarding."
Each of the 42 gift requests he had was snapped up by UCSC staff and students
in the first week, said Trujillo. Marcia Levitsky, academic adviser at College Nine,
bought a tea set and a party dress for a 4-year-old girl named Alejandrina.
"I only have a son, so I take such joy shopping for little girls. It felt
so good to do that," said Levitsky. "I spent a little bit of money, but
it felt like such a good investment. Every little girl should be able to dress like
a princess once in her life."
In University Relations, Linda Moore had to turn away several colleagues who wanted
to buy gifts for needy children through a project run by the Santa Cruz County Office
of Education. "I brought in tags for 10 children, and they were all picked up
right away," said Moore. "I've had to turn down two requests."
Sonia Miraglia, assistant director of evaluations in the Admissions Office, told
Moore about the project while the two were commuting together in the vanpool. University
Relations "always takes a lot of names and wants to take more," said Mirgalia.
"They're our biggest supporter."
This year, the Admissions Office staff distributed 68 gift requests among the
Hahn and Cookhouse buildings, up from about 20 names when they began the project
six years ago. "It's really a great feeling for everybody," said Miraglia.
"Some people take four or five names, and they make an effort to really wrap
the gifts nicely so the children will know they're special."
For Moore, the project takes the guesswork out of shopping for needy children
and reminds her of what the holidays are all about. "Too often, we get wrapped
up in our own families and what they want, and they aren't really that needy,"
she said. "This gives me an opportunity to brighten a child's Christmas."
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