Album: Coastside Opportunity Center’s Adopt-a-Family program

Every year, the Coastside Opportunity Center gives us the chance to play Santa for our neighbors. Their Adopt-a-Family program brings Christmas into homes that need some help celebrating the season. This year, they were able to find people to adopt 307 families (30 more than last year) and 71 seniors on the Coastside, from Montara Mountain to Pescadero.

I spent some time Friday night at the Coastside Opportunity Center, interviewing volunteers and taking lots of pictures of this important community project.  Take a look at our album to get an idea of what it takes to make Christmas happen for about 1,000 Coastsiders.

They still need help with wrapping between now and Thursday, December 9.  If you want to help out, call Judy at 650.563.9706

Organizer Judy O’Leary has been with the program for 15 years. There was a large crowd there the night we visited, including several people who had been working there for years:  Beth Bryant, Jean Burch, Olivia Riba, Aileen Olhey, Linda Poncini, Deloras Crabb, and Pat Strohlein.

Charlene Battaglia has been working there 12 years and her daughter Regina Sena has been helping since she was 6 years. Eight year old Yuirana Cabanillas was here for her first year with mom Maria Cabanillas.

Half Moon Bay High School was represented by Ben Stadler, Sasha Chapnick, Kayla Wynkoop, Victor Acevedo, and Amber Samuelson.

The Coastside Opportunity Center provides food through Second Harvest or whenever a family is in need, assistance to families in crisis through counseling and referral, transportation for seniors and the disabled, emergency rental and utilities help, free help with income tax returns, assistance with Immigration, and scholorship programs for graduating high school seniors. No one who is qualified is ever turned away.