SAN DIEGO — Kids once without a home needed help this holiday season and CBS 8 viewers delivered. Because of you, nearly 100 children living in an apartment complex for veterans and families who were previously homeless, will have the best Christmas ever.
In fact, the generosity was so great, they invited children over who are still struggling with homelessness to make sure they have gifts and a fun Christmas party too.
A professional Santa donated his time to come “Ho, Ho, Ho”, hug, and high-five the kids.
Beauty Queen, Mrs. Black Global, Andrea McClew, brought gifts and helped moms and their kids.
McClew says she wants to be part of this today to connect with the girls here and so they can see they can grow up and be anything they want to be. She says, “I’m so excited just to see the looks on everybody’s faces."
Representation is everything, so being able to be a leader, that’s what Mrs. Black Global is all about. Being a leader. Being a role model. Young African American girls out there, they can be doctors, they can be lawyers, they can be anything they want to be.”
With a Santa, a beauty queen, a food truck, and a room full of presents, this became an epic party. Even Joe Salas, the man who came up with the idea of the party, is shocked by the community’s generosity.
Joe says, “I just want to say thank you to all those who gave. The man upstairs says you have not cause you ask not and I told these kids, we’re going to have a good Christmas and today, we are going to have a good Christmas.”
Someone dropped off bicycles. Another woman donated gift cards to Sephora, Target, Forever 21, and GameStop for the teenagers. One woman made homemade cookies and brought two gallons of milk. Not for Santa. For the children. There was an entire table of Barbies. A table of board games. A section of blankets, scarves, hats, and stuffed animals. Joe says, “My goal was to make sure that this Christmas these children have the mindset that they’re loved and they’re cared for. The situation that people are going through, until you’ve been in their shoes, people don’t realize, you don’t realize what having nothing is.”
This apartment complex is just for people experiencing homelessness or low income. 51 units are just for veterans and their families. Families like Army Veteran Heather Demarco. She says, “We would literally be homeless right now if we did not have this place. I would probably be on the street, in a car, or a hotel.”
Instead, her 9-year old daughter will get to pick out several gifts. Heather spent the day helping organizers with the donations brought in, separating them by age and category. She got to see exactly how much the community donated. She says, “Because we are on the lower scale of income, we feel forgotten and whenever we see this, wow! We do matter. We still are part of the community.” She got emotional as she spoke and wiped a tear. She says, “Thank you guys so much. Thank you, I can’t thank you enough.”
Community advocate Aeiramique Glass Blake helped make the party happen. She gave out her personal cell phone number and took people’s calls all week. She organized everything from a food truck to pizzas, to games for the kids to play in the parking lot, to gift cards and toys. She actually drove over what she collected in a UHaul. She says she heard incredible stories from veterans who reached out to give gifts and from veterans’ children who are now grown who wanted to make sure these children have a good Christmas.
She says, “With me working in politics, sometimes I see the ugly side of things. This whole week and especially today I'm seeing the beauty in people.” And she says it wasn’t just in San Diego. She says people contacted her from everywhere, got the address to the apartment complex, and shipped gifts through Amazon for the kids. She says, “I think this community, this apartment complex, these children of veterans and formerly unsheltered children feel they are seen today.”
The look on the children’s faces getting to pick their gifts tell you how happy they are in this moment. But these gifts send a greater message. These families say they feel like they matter to people. They say they feel loved. And they say they feel Christmas.
Heather says, “Thank you guys so much. Thank you.. I can't thank you enough.”
WATCH RELATED: How to help San Diego veterans, their families in need this Holiday season (Dec. 2022).