LOS ANGELES, CA : The Spirit of Christmas came early this year! On Sunday, December 22nd, HeartFelt held our annual Christmas celebration for children and families in need. The event was held in the enclosed outdoor parking lot at Pastor Benny Herrera's Christian Fellowship church in East LA. HeartFelt returned for a third year to work with Pastor Benny.
I was told by these girls that unicorns are EVERYTHING! Several girls formed a unicorn club with their unicorn toys!
Through his work, Pastor Benny has a very good pulse on who in his community are in the greatest need. The extraordinarily kind and generous donations and gifts from our MSIA family enabled us to purchase over 500 toys (toys, which I was told by many children, were the BEST)! About 200 some of the most in need children and their families in East LA came to enjoy in the celebration this year. Many of the children would only receive gifts from this event this year and since we were so abundant with toys thanks to the generous donations HeartFelt received, we were able to give all of the children who showed up 2 presents each!
This cutie pie was OBSESSED with his Black Panther action figure toy!
Our MSIA family helped pull this event together in all aspects. MSIAers from all over the world donated funds to make this event possible! A minister who always has Christmas and giving in her heart, Rita Van Fossan, generously donated a lot of her time to help purchase toys, food, drinks, and treats for the event. MSIAer Gabriela Vahanian was an instrumental toy shopper volunteer as well. We had so much help organizing and sorting all the gifts the week before the event. Early in the week, Monika Zands, Juliana Vasquez and Thanhdi Nguyen helped with the first batch of organizing and sorting of the gifts. Later in the week, Ministers John Hruby and Carolyn Freyer-Jones along with their AMAZING little helpers Cayden and Lucinda lovingly assisted in sorting and organizing all the gifts before the event.
Lucinda and Cayden, Certified Toy Sorting Elves
Larry Quimby, resident HeartFelt Elf Extraordinaire, handing out TOYS!
On the day of the event, Prana's very own kitchen staff David Funk and Ned O'Neill were up early preparing about 350 hot dogs. Rita and Matt Van Fossan brought over all the food for the event and Rita along with LeAnna Sharp and Orion Lopez served the treats with big smiles and bigger hearts! All extra food was graciously packaged up and given to the families to take home for later (HUGE HIT).
LeAnna Sharp, Orion Lopez & Rita Van Fossan, HeartFelt Treat Elves!
When we arrived in East LA we had an amazing team of HeartFelt Elves to help decorate the place and pass out toys during the event: Larry Quimby (minister & yearly HeartFelt Elf), Rita & Matt Van Fossan (ministers), LeAnna Sharp & Orion Lopez (ministers), Richard Klein (minister), John & Amy Hruby (ministers) and sons Cayden and Connor, Carolyn Freyer-Jones & John Jones (ministers) and daughter Lucinda, Rinaldo Porcile & Maritza Del Valle Porcile (ministers), Andrea Barkley (minister) & Mike Blakeslee, and wonderful new faces not in MSIA: Juliana Vazquez, Thanhdi Nguyen, Ashton Avilla, Blaine Strong, Tucker, Kyra, Roni Weissman, Juan Carlos, and Briana Bernhardt & her daughter and father. HeartFelt was surely BLESSED this year with volunteers who radiated the Christmas spirit!
The Whole HeartFelt Christmas Elf Team!
Right before the event began, there was a huge crowd of children and their families lined up buzzing with excitement. As soon as we opened the gate to let them in the children shrieked with joy and ran straight to the present line. As they were each handed a present they beamed with happiness. Then they turned around and the biggest surprise of the day was right there waiting for them - SANTA! Kids lined up eagerly to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture with him.
Santa & Mrs. Claus and two huge Claus fans, Lucinda & Skyler
The families then loaded up on the delicious hot dogs and cookies, popcorn and drinks. As they sat down to eat, many of the children began to share their exciting new gifts with each other. The children laughed, played and the families just beamed. The food was enthusiastically devoured!
These boys weren't sure which was better: meeting Santa or their Fortnite action figures!
Thanks to our MSIA family's generous donations, we were able to give every child that showed up two presents and even were able to give Pastor Benny over 100+ toys to take to the children he ministers to in Encinata, Mexico. Pastor Benny runs a soup kitchen there where very poor children can get two free meals a day - a lot of the time the only place they get fed. Pastor Benny said the children there will be thrilled to receive a Christmas present as well!
With overflowing love and gratitude in my heart, thank you all for making this HeartFelt Christmas event possible and such a joyous experience for everyone involved. God bless us all, Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year! ❤️
MSIA HeartFelt Elves!
LOOK AT ALL THESE TOYS!
More Blessed HeartFelt Elves
"The highest form of consciousness is service. And the highest form of service is selfless service." – John-Roger, D.S.S.