Families adopted for Christmas
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

DAVID C. NEEDHAM/Special to the Thousand Oaks Acorn CHRISTMAS JOY—Surrounded by love and generosity, Alyssa Searles, 2, finds games to play during a party given by One-to-One, a nonprofit organization. It helps families adopted through the Lutheran Social Services holiday charity program.

As she entered a room filled with Christmas goodies for 20 underprivileged families in Thousand Oaks, Chris Poynter’s tears flowed freely: she knew what the food, stacks of presents and holiday festivities would mean to them.

“Many of these families have trouble putting food on the table. They are the working poor who do not make enough money to even meet their basic needs. Without this, there would be no Christmas gifts for them,” said Poynter, program and development director of Lutheran Social Services.

In the Founders Room of the Ascension Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks, tables of sweet holiday breads, hot dogs, cookies, chips and other treats were presented as families arrived at lunchtime last Saturday. The room was adorned with Christmas trees and other sparkling decorations. Each table was covered with a festive cloth and paper for the children to create their own crayoned drawings.

Ojai philanthropist Debbie Herman gave the party in honor of the children, who at first seemed a little shy but were soon making new friends and filling up on yummy food.

Herman was there with her Westlake family, including her brother, Mark Lackey, and his wife, Christy, and her parents, Barbara and Lauren Lackey. A few years ago, Herman read how there weren’t enough donors to take care of all the families in need in Thousand Oaks. So she called Lutheran Social Services and adopted five families. The next year she adopted 10 families and this year 20, her mother said.

“My daughter has always had a lot of compassion for others,” Barbara Lackey said.

She recalled how, as a young child, Debbie would buy ice cream from the ice cream truck for children in the neighborhood who didn’t have money, even if they were the very kids who would otherwise tease or try to bully her.

To help take care of her adopted families, Herman began her own nonprofit organization called Oneto-One. She’s had poker party fundraisers during the year, she said. She also asked her family and friends to donate to her group instead of buying her Christmas gifts.

“One hundred percent of any money that goes into One-to-One goes to the families,” Herman said. She volunteers as the administrator and pays any costs, such as the rental of the tables and other expenses, out of her own pocket, she said.

Over the past year she’s shopped and collected hundreds of toys and gifts for the children. She got their sizes and wish lists in advance. Each child got two or three new clothing items along with games, dolls and action figures.

“If a child asked for a particular toy, they definitely got that toy,” Herman said.

Older children were given gift cards to buy music or other items of their choice at Target, she said.

“When Robinsons-May closed, she practically bought out their toy department,” her mother said.

During the year those items were stored in an empty house she’s renovating. During the party the gifts were all beautifully wrapped and stacked, filling up a good portion of the large assembly hall, ready for Santa to distribute to the children. She also had several tables filled with gifts for the parents, mostly single moms, who attended with their children.

Randi Greenberg of Simi Valley and Kellie Greenberg of Thousand Oaks brought their niece, Alyssa Searles, 2, and nephew, Anthony, 7, to the party. Their aunts became Alyssa and Anthony’s legal guardians to keep them out of foster care during the past year.

“Anthony and Alyssa have had a very rough time these past few months,” Randi Greenberg said. “Coming to this party has meant a lot to them.”

“Anthony has been so excited about coming here. Looking forward to it has made him very happy. He couldn’t wait to get here. Now he’s ecstatic,” said Kellie Greenberg.

Little Alyssa only wanted to have a Santa hat and to be close to her big brother. Together they walked around and played games, ate lunch and enjoyed the festivities. Their aunts enjoyed watching children who’ve recently been so unhappy find reasons to smile again.

“When I came into this room I began to cry because I’ve never seen anything like this done for these families before,” Poynter said.

“The room is filled with warmth and generosity and is what the holidays are supposed to be—needs are met, desires are fulfilled and the area’s poor are getting gifts they would never have gotten. It is all so personal.”