– Press Release – During this special time of year, we thought it is important to teach our children that the season is about giving. The season is about being grateful for our many blessings and helping those in our community who are in need of assistance. Ideally, by helping those less fortunate, we can help create an environment that encourages others to “pass it on”, promoting a culture of continuing support in our community.
As mothers, we tasked our three primary school age daughter’s, Gabriella Knox (8), Arianna Flota (8) and Alejandra Flota (9), with the goal of purchasing enough food and supplies for a family of four for the week of Christmas. These supplies included cleaning items such as dishing washing soap, clothes washing powder, and bleach, as well as personal hygiene items such as soap, shampoo, tooth brushes and tooth paste, plus staple food items including rice, beans, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, herbs and spices, potatoes, carrots, fresh bell pepper, onions and tomatoes, along with a Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing and yams. The girls also donated a gently-loved toy to each child in the three families. The cost of each box was $310.
We asked the girls how they would like to raise the funds to purchases the family Christmas boxes. Unanimously they choose a bake sale. We began by creating a menu, purchasing the supplies for the baked goods and then baking lots of delicious cookies, cupcakes and treats. Part of our goal was to have the girls learn the value of a dollar and to understand how much money was needed to purchase the items required to bake the goods for the bake sale.
The girls were all very shocked by how much money needed to be spent to buy the ingredients! They worked for two evenings after school to help bake the goodies, and then sold them for two days on the beach; one day in central park during a sailing regatta and one day on the beach at El Pescador. Through this two day bake sale they raised enough money to purchase the contents for all three boxes. We thank everyone who supported the bake sale, many of whom left additional funds when they were informed of the girls’ mission.
The week before Christmas the girls decorated the boxes for each family and we purchased all of the supplies from Super Buy, Big Tree and Quality Poultry. On Wednesday, December 19, we delivered the boxes to families in DFC, San Perdito and San Mateo. The girls were able to meet the families and understand the feeling to making a difference in someone else’s life. We hope to further the relationship with these families, continuing to work with them over the years and expand “Santa’s Little Helpers” to more families each year.
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year!
/s/ Amy Knox and Ali Flota
Santa’s Little Helpers brought many happy faces to many children
Dr. Daniel Gonzalez joined Santa’s Little Helpers in delivering gifts
Happy Holidays from Santa’s Little Helpers
