Soroptimist Community Christmas Tree laden with children’s needs and wishes

Mariella, 13, needs clothes and underwear. A budding artist, she would like some art supplies. Ten-year-old José hopes to find Transformers or Godzilla toys under his Christmas tree. And Anthony, 3, wants “anything Mickey Mouse.”

These are just three of the tags on the Soroptimist Community Christmas Tree at Vintage Faire Mall. This is the 29th year of the charity effort, which aims to bring needed gifts to disadvantaged children throughout the Modesto area.

Children are referred to the two sponsoring clubs, Soroptimist International of Modesto and Modesto North, from several agencies, including Community Housing and Children’s Services, Haven Women’s Shelter, Hutton House and Modesto City Schools. Each child is assigned a tag. Volunteers stop by the tree, pick a tag or two, shop for gifts and then take them, unwrapped, to the kiosk.

The tree opened last week on the mall’s upstairs level outside the Forever 21 store. It is staffed through Dec. 19 for most of the hours the mall is open. The clubs also accept monetary donations, which are used to purchase gifts for the tags left on the tree at the end of the season.

The gifts, which often represent the only new clothes these children see in a year, are important. But more important is what each gift represents.

“It instills hope in these children,” said JoAnn Found, co-chairwoman of the effort with Patty Good for the past 13 years. “They think, ‘Maybe my microcosm of a world isn’t so great, but somebody cares.’”

The tree has become a family tradition for many of the volunteers over the years. Found and Good said they are seeing families on their third generation of giving. They also get former recipients coming back and wanting to return the good deed to others.

People are so enthusiastic, Good said, that often they want to include a letter with happy holiday wishes with the gifts they give. The Soroptimists don’t allow that.

The anonymity is part of what makes the program so successful. People don’t know the children for whom they are buying gifts, and the recipients don’t know who provided them with a present.

One woman came to the tree and Good helped her pick out a tag for a young boy. It wasn’t until after she filled out the paperwork that Good learned the woman had lost her grandson, who shared the same first name as the boy on the tag, earlier that year.

“She said she could stay home and cry, or she could come out and help some other child that needs it,” Good said.

It was just one of many times the stories of those who come to the tree have brought the volunteers who staff it to tears.

“We do cry a lot,” Good said. “But they’re mostly happy tears.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2014 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Soroptimist Community Christmas Tree laden with children’s needs and wishes."