LCSA Holiday Events

By: Jorlinis Centeno, CA DCSS

San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County DCSS started a food drive at the end of November to help families in need during the holiday season. All donations went to the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino Food Bank, and the collection ran for two weeks, focusing on healthy items like grains, protein, fruits and veggies. The response was so good that San Bernardino DCSS had to empty the donation boxes twice a week because they filled up so fast.

Solano County

Vacaville’s annual Festival of Trees and tree

lighting ceremony took place on November 28th featuring carriage rides, hometown holiday entertainment, carolers, refreshments, and of course, Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Organizations from all over Solano County lined the streets, providing free gifts and product samples to those who attended. Solano County DCSS was on hand to answer questions, give information and hand out candy cane reindeer for the children to enjoy, a great opportunity for Child Support to have a presence and more visibility at a family event.

Stanislaus County

The WE CARE program of Stanislaus County DCSS provides transitional emergency shelter and support services in collaboration with other agencies to assist homeless individuals in becoming self-sufficient. From December 4th through December 21st, Stanislaus County DCSS collected the following items for the WE CARE program: shampoo, toothpaste, lip balm, body soap, dish soap, bleach, laundry soap, sleeping bags, blankets, hats and gloves. All the items were collected at the county’s office in Turlock, California.

Kern County

For the past several years, staff at Kern County DCSS have come together during the holiday season to provide gifts for children who are in foster care. This year, Kern County DCSS received specific wishes from the children and placed the gift descriptions on a decorative tree in their office space. The staff was then able to select a wish from the tree to fulfill for a child, and such is their generosity that there has never been a child’s wish left behind on the Holiday tree. Kern County DCSS looks forward to this time every year - although the county works to establish, collect and distribute child support for over 50,000 children in their community each year, there is just something more tangible about fulfilling a child’s holiday wish.



Del Norte County

For the past five years, Del Norte County DCSS has partnered with Del Norte social workers to provide presents for approximately 20-30 children currently in foster care in their county. Each year Child Protective Services provides a list of children for whom staff can purchase gifts as a secret Santa. Every year, staff enjoy the shopping, giving to those in need and striving to surpass the generosity of the previous year.

Napa County

Every year Napa County DCSS partners with the California Department of Forestry and California Highway Patrol to distribute gifts to children in their caseload. The families are chosen throughout the year based on need. Napa DCSS also creates a “store” where parents can come and pick out presents for their children in the office when they pay their support or have an appointment. Last year, Napa County DCSS staff distributed toys and other gifts for over 300 children, and raised $2,500 in cash and distributed it to parents who needed extra help with rent, Christmas trees, clothes and other special items. Napa is planning to distribute additional money this year.

Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County DCSS is participating in a food drive fundraiser called Second Harvest to help fight against local hunger. Santa Clara’s office is receiving donations in food barrels which have been placed throughout their office, collecting food and money during this holiday season. They are proud to support Second Harvest because 95 percent of the donations go directly towards community programs.







Ventura County

On December 1st , Ventura County DCSS took part in the

annual Can Tree Collection at Ventura’s Figueroa Plaza downtown. Ventura DCSS staff joined other local social services agencies and private businesses to build Christmas trees out of canned goods. Once the trees were taken down, all the canned goods were donated to the local food bank to feed the hungry in their community. The staff members say they had a lot of fun and enjoyed giving back to their community.

Sutter County

Sutter County DCSS collected more than 50 stuffed animals for “Bear Hugs for the Holidays”, donating the toys to the California Highway Patrol, Sutter County Sheriff’s Department, and Yuba-Sutter Trauma Intervention Program, who give them to children who have suffered trauma and foster children in the local area. Employers from Sutter County Assessor’s Office, the Clerk-Recorder’s Office and the Sutter County Library joined Child Support Services to donate their time and stuffed animals for this project.

Sutter County DCSS also adopted a local family in Yuba City. The family of five was affected by a drunk driver who crashed into their home, creating extensive damage and not much could be salvaged. The family is currently living with relatives and needed clothes, shoes and toys for the children during the holidays. Sutter County DCSS stepped up to collect all the items and bring them to the family.

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County CSSD had close to 20 staff volunteers help with their Annual Holiday Giveaway. On December 13th, the staff members arrived early in the morning to prepare holiday gift bags for 25 families in need. Some of the gifts included toys, food and gift cards to local stores.

As families began to arrive, the volunteers received a big boost from the traditional visit of Dr. Steven Golightly, Director of Los Angeles County CSSD. “It brings tears to my eyes each year I visit our holiday giveaway,” said Dr. Golightly. “It’s inspiring to see the great commitment by our staff to give back to our clients and community and see the reaction of the families who receive help at this special time of year.”

Tehama County

Tehama County DCSS hosted a Santa Meet and Greet for the children in the Los Molinos community. During the event children met Santa and entered a coloring contest.

“This was the first (Meet and Greet) of what will hopefully be many,” said Child Support Specialist Ranita Fox. “We have been at the government center location since May and wanted to help get the center more well-known in town, so the Meet and Greet with Santa was an idea that we came up with as a great way to get the center’s name out there.”

Merced County

Earlier in the year, Merced County DCSS staff selected the Valley Crisis Center as the organization they wanted to assist during the holidays. DCSS staff “adopted” eight families who had been victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. Merced County DCSS has been adopting families for many years, but this year they went a step further and included a luncheon for the adopted families. The staff’s donations provided a delicious lunch catered by Dickey’s and allowed them to give $50 gift cards to each family. Staff also bought presents for the family members, which were handed out during the luncheon by Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Tulare County

Employees of Tulare County DCSS conducted a Holiday Board Game Drive during the month of November, collecting more than 170 games to donate to five kindergarten classes at Goshen Elementary School and Ducor Elementary School. Playing board games helps young children learn words, numbers and colors, and often teachers buy these supplies out of their own pockets, so staff felt strongly that this gift would keep giving to the children throughout the year.

Alameda County

For the 2017 holiday season, Alameda County DCSS partnered with other agencies to celebrate a “Season of Sharing” to help families who might otherwise not be able to enjoy the holidays. First, they participated in a Stone Soup Competition in November, competing with other county departments to collect money and food donations for the Alameda County Food Bank. Alameda County DCSS managed to collect almost 350 pounds of food and $200 in cash.

Alameda County DCSS continued by partnering with the Alameda County Social Service Agency to adopt a family for the holidays, adopting two families with a total of eight children and raising money to help them with their “wish lists.” By December 1st, DCSS employees had donated over $847 to provide the families with toys, electronics, and clothes. The third Season of Sharing event was another friendly competition – the Giving Tree Contest, in which each of the sections in the agency was provided with a holiday tree to decorate. A breakfast celebration was held on the morning that the trees were unveiled; the section with the most festive tree (as decided by a panel of judges from Social Services Agency) got bragging rights and a prize. Best of all, after the competition the decorated trees were given to families in need. Knowing that these trees are going to families, teams creatively incorporated gifts cards and other items into their decorating schemes.

San Mateo County

San Mateo County DCSS supported homeless and low-income children by donating 50 new athletic shoes this holiday season. My New Red Shoes is a non-profit agency in San Mateo County that has helped children obtain basic necessities like shoes and clothing to improve school attendance, performance and engagement since 2006. For every pair of shoes donated, Target donates a $50 gift card for the purchase of clothing.