Orangewood Foundation 12/21/19

FFRGOC members and officers who served the youths at the Christmas Party

The leadership behind Orangewood Foundation for Youths

This event was for the Christmas Party of the children and staff of Orangewood Foundation that FFRGOC participates every year to bring the joyful season to the youths by providing food and distributing gifts and having a choir to sing Christmas songs to them.

Per their website, Orangewood Foundation helps the youth to improve themselves by strengthening their physical and emotional health so they can be more self sufficient adults. Orangewood Foundation provides housing and education and much more.

FFRGOC aims to bring joy and the touch of home to these youths by being part of our faith community. We share food and they are happy to see what they usually miss most during the holidays i.e. family. We ate, sang and talked to them just like family. Our home cooked meals and familiar foods to them like pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs are something they look forward to plus being able to take over the choir instruments and sing Christmas songs that brought smiles to their faces and the camaraderie among them and our FFRGOC volunteers.

FFRGOC volunteers, mostly retirees, had also fun being with these youths whose cultures also vary. We had Mr and Mrs. Santa Claus every year, also volunteers - Bob and Myrna Keyes all dressed up as Santa Clauses who distributed gifts. Most of the volunteers wore Christmas attires all decked up with lighted red and green bulbs as earrings or pins.

Our chairperson for the event who had done this job for years was Joseph Arevalo. He had also solicited gifts from businesses and organizations for new toys and gift cards aided by our members and officers. Food including home cooked meals were mostly donated by our members and officers and their families and friends.

This time of the year, Christmas, FFROC members and officers had shared their time, efforts and resources to make these youths happy and fulfilled hopefully on their faith and relationship aspects. It is a win-win for both FFRGOC members and officers and the youths.