Lakeside Apartments Celebrate Holiday Season with Gifts and Cookies

The young residents at Lakeside Apartments were ecstatic to receive Christmas toys once again from the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. The Toys for Tots Program collects new unwrapped toys for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign. Collected toys are given to the less fortunate children throughout the United States in the hopes of sharing the joy of Christmas and to contribute to improving communities in the future.

This year, the Lakeside community received three boxes filled with toys. Children and siblings who attended and participate in the After School Program, computer literacy classes, ESL classes, art and crafts sessions, and other resident services hosted by the community's PSCDC Resident Services Coordinator, Haydee Pelayo Nuño, were registered for a gift and attend the distribution on December 19th and 20th. Attending children picked out the toy that they liked while those who could not attend had a toy based on their age set aside for them. Some residents were also able to get multiple toys, with children younger than six years old able to get two to three toys. Left over toys were given out during the following Cookies with Santa event, with most of the leftover toys meant for the younger children. Haydee registered about 50 children to participate in this year's toy distribution.

"It feels amazing to have this opportunity to give back to the residents during the holidays," admits PSCDC Resident Services Coordinator, Haydee Pelayo Nuño. "I love seeing their faces light up with joy as they pick the toy they like."

On December 21st, the day following the Toys for Tots distribution, Haydee also invited the Lakeside community to cookies with Santa! Resident and local volunteer Sara dressed up as jolly Saint Nick this year to share cookies with the very young children in her community. Sara brought smiles to her younger neighbors and made the event a total success! While meeting Santa, residents were invite to join in the community's annual gingerbread house making, followed by having cookies with Santa, and ending the event with singing and listening to some Christmas songs. Friends and local partners, Xfinity and Costco, also pitched in to help the event. Xfinity donated the gram crackers and frosting to make gingerbread houses while Costco donated a gift card from which the cookies were purchased with. Thank you, Xfinity and Costco!