Students buy, deliver presents to needy kids
SAMOHI — More than 150 needy youngsters will open an extra gift this holiday season thanks to the hard work of a group of students at Santa Monica High School.
The gifts range from dolls and miniature cars to electric keyboards, scooters and art kits. They were given this month to students on free-lunch programs at area elementary schools.
“We want to give inspiration to these kids that don’t have anything,” said Erendira Gracida, 17, a senior at Samohi. “It’s just very empowering...”
“We want to give inspiration to these kids that don’t have anything.” — — ERENDIRA GRACIDA Samohi senior
Here’s how the plan worked: Armed with a list of needy students, Gracida and a small band of students went to each home-room at Samohi and asked them to raise money to buy a gift, priced between $20 and $30. The gifts were then collected by the group, wrapped and taken to six local schools. When they arrived at the schools, the gifts already had the individual students’ names written on them. School workers then distributed the gifts after school was let out.
Participating elementary schools included John Muir, Edison, McKinley, Will Rogers, Grant and Franklin. This year’s effort was overseen by Samohi math teacher and alumnus Alicia Gonzalez, who participated in the program herself before graduating in 1992.
Gonzalez is one of the faculty advisors that oversees MEChA, a group of 28 Latino students who organized the gift-giving campaign. MEChA stands for “Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanos de Aztlan,” or, roughly, the movement of Chicano students for Aztlan. Aztlan is a mythical place in the American Southwest that dates back to the Aztec era, Gonzalez said.
MEChA is an organization aimed at empowering Latino students, and promoting higher education and community service. Gracida, the president, said she is waiting to hear back from colleges she applied to earlier this year. Her first choice is Penn State University.
In the meantime, Gonzalez, the advisor, said the gift-giving effort has benefited everyone involved.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really fun,” she said, adding the younger students usually send back thank you cards after the holidays. “It’s a reminder — I’m an idealist, so I always believe in the inherent goodness of people.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 25, 2003. Read the original PDF.