VALLEY CHURCH, BOYS & GIRLS CLUB WRAP GIFTS FOR THOSE IN NEED

Armed with scissors, tape and giftwrap, an army of volunteers gathered at Valley Church and made quick work of the piles of hats, scarves and gloves slated for Vacaville’s homeless this Christmas.
Call it a labor of love, both in the creating of much of the donated items and the wrapping of them.
“It’s amazing,” said Valley Church Pastor Raleigh Galgan. The gifting project began last month, when a Love Tree went up in the church’s lobby. Tags decorated the tree, featuring names of homeless recipients met through various avenues. Also named were children at Alamo Garden Apartments, who are slated to participate in The Leaven program being created in their apartment complex and who will receive age-appropriate gifts at a Dec. 19 open house.
Through the Gift of Giving, Galgan met up with Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club youths who were crafting fleece scarves and hats and throws to keep the homeless warm. They decided to partner, and these gifts will be distributed throughout Solano County to those in need.
“We’ll distribute them to Mission Solano and Bridge to Life,” among other agencies, Galgan said. “We’ll go to Dixon and we’ll go to Winters if we need to.”
Club youths crafted more than 100 hats, 40 scarves and 20 throws, said Susan Schwartz with the nonprofit.
“This is what they want to do for their holiday,” said Schwartz of the kids at the Club’s four locations. “How awesome is that?”
For Gracie Nance, 15, learning a new skill was great.
“I think making them was fun,” she said, admitting that she had to practice to make her items perfect. “The process of doing (them) was fun.”
Sergio Maciel, 14, said he enjoys giving back to the community.
“I thought it was an awesome project,” he said. “It’s an awesome feeling because you’re giving to people who don’t have (anything). Giving back is really cool.”
The Club’s holiday giving projects aren’t over. They’ve collected items for food baskets as well as toys for needy children. All are slated to be delivered closer to Christmas.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” Schwartz advised.
By Kimberly K. Fu, kfu@thereporter.com, @ReporterKimFu on Twitter