_Efforts

Thanks to the efforts of many people, organizations and companies, The California Santa Project has grown and flourished. Each year, we are able to design, fabricate and deliver toys to the children of families who have found themselves seemingly at the bottom. The reality is that many of these families were once a thriving part of their community. It is amazing to see the ripple effects that can develop from a down turn in an industry or the cost of housing when a particular industry suddenly grows. Those not riding the wave can drown underneath it.

Good middle class families with good jobs, find out that one day their job has been "out-sourced" to another country. Now the engineer, technician or operator or whomever finds themselves in a hole. They have worked many years with great success in an industry that no longer needs them. Maybe someone in the restaurant or retail business finds that a booming industry has hired so many people at a tremendously high wage that the housing market skyrockets. Now it will cost 2-3 times the normal rate to live in the community. Unfortunately their employer can not increase their wages to accommodate for this.

What we are left with is a bunch of "bums" trying to get a free ride from society, but good hard working people with children are getting served quite a large piece of "humble pie". It is terribly difficult to bounce back from a blow like this. You cannot just decide to take a well paying position in some other industry. Going back to school to get "re-trained" costs money that these people no longer have. So with all worldly possessions gone, house, cars, toys, etc., all they are left with are memories and the knot in their stomachs as they try to figure out where they will put their family to sleep and how they will feed them.

This editorial is not designed to depress you, it is meant to show that this could happen to anyone, even you! The homeless communities are not made up primarily of derelicts, but quite the contrary. Only a small percentage have a long history of this type of lifestyle, and most of them got there due to drug or alcohol addictions. All this is curable! With the support of the community rallying together just as Jesus Christ has instructed us to do we can help deliver hope and guidance to these families. If all you did was give just one dollar or one minute of your time to this type of effort every month and everyone else did the same, there would be no homeless shelters.

Today The California Santa Project and the people within it along with the coordination of the city of San Jose work tirelessly to keep the candle of hope burning and guarantee the rising of the sun tomorrow for those who can't see that far ahead.

- JEH

Current Work Schedule

Below, is a list of scheduled work days. These are updated on a regular basis. If you have already been involved coming out and want to join us again, you are welcome to just show up at the posted dates and times. If this is your first time, please use the Contact Us page to send us your information. We will respond to you as soon as possible. We can call or Email you with directions.

Come when you want and stay as long as you like. With the support of people, there are usually refreshments and lunch provided (donations are always welcomed to continue this).

Friday, November 23 – 9AM to 5PM.

Saturday, November 24 – 9AM to 5PM.

Sunday, November 25 - 12:00PM - 5:00PM

Saturday, December 1 – 9AM to 5PM.

Saturday, December 8 – 9AM to 5PM.

Saturday, December 15 – 9AM to 5PM.