Hands Across Hemet seeking Christmas donations for needy families
HEMET – A local charitable group, Hands Across Hemet, is seeking donations for their annual Christmas toy and present drive. Each year, the group puts together Thanksgiving meals for needy families in November and Christmas presents for local children and families in need in December.
A young recipient enthusiastically opens her Christmas gifts at last year’s Hands Across Hemet Christmas event.
Hands Across Hemet also does random food giveaways throughout the year based on the needs of people and families who contact the group and they have a pet page where they assist pet owners who are in need of help with dog or cat food for a few days, or just pet supplies in general.
“Our biggest giveaways by far are Thanksgiving and Christmas because those are the two occasions where we all get together to help a group of people and actually get to meet the families we help,” Cortez said.
“I love how our community comes together when they hear that someone is in need,” Tanya Cortez, founder of Hands Across Hemet explained.
A young girl gets into the Christmas spirit while opening her gifts.
Cortez founded Hands Across Hemet in 2013. In the beginning, she and her children began by doing random grocery giveaways to help families in need that would contact her group. After that, a friend joined in and started pitching in for the food giveaways.
The group has now grown to more than 2,000 members – what Cortez called “a small but caring group.”
In addition to Cortez organizing this year’s Christmas giveaway event, she is being helped by her sister Jazmin Cortez and Karina Torres, as well as a core group of other volunteers and administrators.
“Don Stauty, Kimberly Castillo, Sabrina Chapman, Maria Anderson, Michelle Green, Zabrina Castro, Socorro Velasquez, Chas Rau, plus so many others, everyone in the group is amazing. We all have different time constraints – family, work, and other obligations,” Cortez said, “but everyone pitches in whenever and wherever they can.
“It’s been a really rewarding and special experience for us to be able to set this up and help in whatever way we can, even if just to bring people together sometimes,” Cortez said.
A very difficult year
Gifts wait to be given away to needy families.
Unfortunately, this year the group has had an especially difficult time in gathering enough donations to provide for the needy families on their list.
“This year, we have a waiting list of families that either don’t qualify for any of the local holiday programs, all for different reasons, or families that weren’t able to sign up for other programs in time,” Cortez explained.
“I’ve been trying super hard to get the word out and trying to bring donations in for all our families, but for whatever reason, this year has been really difficult, donation and sponsorship wise.”
“I would like to get at least 30 families sponsored and/or adopted. With Christmas now right around the corner, we’re getting very close,” Cortez said.
“This is the worst year we’ve had since I started the group. It’s just been a very difficult year for everyone, I think,” Cortez said.
Last year’s gift giveaway was a great success and was enjoyed by all who attended.
“Thanksgiving was so bad that we didn’t even hold a giveaway,” Cortez explained. We just had people pick up their turkey, fixings, and veggies because we only were able to help about 20 families.”
“Thankfully, for our Thanksgiving giveaway this year, Jim Lineberger from Valley Community Pantry reached out to our group and offered to sponsor 10 families with full thanksgiving meals and that was a huge help,” Cortez explained.
“Our group is really in need of toy donations for our Christmas giveaway and we are accepting new or used toys. They don’t need to be big or expensive gifts, just anything that comes from the heart is always appreciated,” Cortez said.
“Coloring books, crayons, coloring pencils, Play-Doh sets, Barbies, dolls, Hot Wheels, boy/girl gift sets, gift cards or gift certificates for the teenagers, anything a child would enjoy receiving as a Christmas present,” Cortez explained. “Toys don’t even have to be new, as long as they were gently-used and can be re-gifted to a needy child.”
Many ways to give
Families begin choosing clothes, blankets, and other essentials at last years Christmas event.
Cortez explained there are several different ways donors can help. People willing and able to assist can donate new and used toys of any kind and for any age groups. The group is also seeking necessities such as warm clothing, blankets, and food.
The second way of donating to needy families through Hands Across Hemet is that donors can choose to sponsor a family either anonymously or with direct contact.
“The way it works is that as the sponsors sign up to help we assign families to them based on who is in most need. We don’t always just go down the list in a first come first serve basis, it’s always based on those families that are most in need.”
“The sponsors will then either buy gifts and/or food, whatever they’re comfortable with giving, and drop the items off for us to give to their chosen family at our Christmas giveaway event or the donor may deliver the items directly to the family in need.
Gifts, clothing, and other essentials to be picked out by families in need.
Another way to help is through cash donations which can be donated through the groups gofundme account.
“I am reaching out to everyone in the community, from individuals, to churches to businesses, who would be willing to help,” Cortez explained. “Whether in the form of individual gifts, donations or anyone willing to sponsor a family in need, with the hope that we will be able to meet this year’s goals of helping families in need.”
Cortez explained, “All donations received go to children and families who are in need right here within our community, throughout the San Jacinto Valley.”
Join the group for their giveaway and meet Santa
Families receive food as well as gifts during the Christmas event.
Cortez has invited everyone from the community to join Hands Across Hemet for their upcoming Christmas event, where designated families will be able to pick up their gifts.
The giveaway event is scheduled for Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. Anyone interested in attending or who wants to donate gifts, clothes, or food can contact Cortez for further information.
“Don’t forget, Santa will even be in attendance at our Christmas giveaway to take pictures with the kids,” Cortez said.
If you can help, own a business or know of an organization that would be able to help, Cortez can be contacted through the group’s Facebook page or she can be contacted directly.
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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.