CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Students at Oak Park Elementary School got a visit from Santa and his helpers Wednesday, after arriving with hundreds of gifts.
Alcohol wholesaler L&F Distributors and seven sponsors helped purchase about $18,000 worth of toys and bikes. 200 toys and 70 bikes were handed out to kids -- many coming from lower-income households.
“Everybody thought, well you guys are crazy, you work for a beer company," said L&F employee Martin de los Santos. "And I said, ‘Well, you know what? We want to be the first beer company that we want to do this, help the need[y] kids you know?’”
Amy Garcia works with Santos at L&F and said she knows how special it can be to receive that perfect gift.
“I was that kid, so I know what that feels like," Garcia said. "So, to be able to do this for them and for them to have something to open and to take home with them, it’s awesome.”
Communities in Schools of the Coastal Bend case manager Dezerae Cantu works with students in-need. She asked teachers to pick five students who needed gifts the most so they could get them Wednesday.
“I know in working really close with the families a lot of them are in need and it makes a world of difference in some cases,” Cantu said.
Oak Park Elementary School principal Federico Saqui said he also benefited from toy donations when he was in fifth grade. Seeing the reactions from kids and their parents is what he said stands out.
“We also get a lot of feedback from parents," Saqui said. "The last parent that was departing, she was very thankful and said, ‘you’ve already made my daughter’s Christmas.’ So, that’s what it’s really about.”
The 70 bikes were raffled off to students. Only students selected by their teachers to receive a gift qualified for the raffle.
“To see these kids, you know, their smile, you know, and then when you see them on the street and they remember, ‘Hey! You’re the one that gave me that toy at the school!’ You know, the parents are great, you know and that’s, that’s the gift for me,” Santos said.
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