ALTOONA, Pa. (WJAC) — The Jaffa Shrine in Altoona held its annual Jaffa Kiddies Christmas event Saturday, giving back to many area families.
It's not every year you get a full sack of presents, but that's what some lucky kids got Saturday.
"I'm excited to meet Santa!" screamed one little, blond girl.
Asked what she wants for Christmas, one girl said Pokémon cards and another saying a Kindle.
It's a time of year everyone looks forward to.
"We have an annual Jaffa Kiddie Christmas program that we put on, where we have a meal for the children," explains Randy Collier, the assistant rabban at the Shrine. "We give 'em toys, presents. They get to meet Santa Claus, interact with some characters. Mrs. Claus will read them a story, so that they can find some entertainment in that."
Patty McNally's three-year-old grandson, Opie, has had autism and surgeries since birth. She tells us this event gives him a spark of joy.
"I've raised three kids and never came to a program like this before," she says. "It's really remarkable and amazing that they put something like this together for the children."
Collier says, "We're hoping to give out about 300 bags" this year.
"A few more, a few less," he adds. "But that's usually what we're trying to do. Each year we try to get a little bit more, of course."
However, for many kids, these will be the only presents they get this Christmas.
Collier notes that "it helps a lot of families. We try to do it for the community. ...The families do have a need for it in our area, so we try to fulfill the need as best we can."
So, kids are picked through their school to take part, with Collier saying, "Their nurses or guidance counselors, we send forms out to them earlier in the year and they send us back a list of people to come."
Five-year-old twins, Flynn and Maddox Hoover, were one of those kids, according to their mom.
"I'm a single mom and this is just something really nice to get us outta the house," she says, adding that it helps her out "because I can't really do a whole lot of extravagant things."
All of this: to give kids the merriest of Christmases.
"The Jaffa Kiddies Christmas has been very special to us here at Jaffa, and we wanna keep it going every year," Collier emphasizes.
"But that's why we do it. It's for the kids."
For a list of upcoming events at the Jaffa Shrine, click here.
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