A group of volunteers braved blustery winds Sunday to deliver holiday cheer to dozens of Del Rio families in need.
Mary Mota, organizer and coordinator of Del Rio’s Christmas Around the World, said the event was made possible by the generosity of local sponsors and the 12 women who assist her in her efforts.
“We try to help different families from the community who would not be having a Christmas if it wasn’t for our sponsors. Today, we have about 56 children from the community that we’ll be serving with the help of our 15 sponsors,” Mota said.
Among the local sponsors are JesCo Contracting Service, the Cactus Thorn Garden Club, The Del Rio Bank & Trust, Realtor Rhonda Montgomery, County Commissioner Pct. 1 Martin Wardlaw, County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez, Falcon Bank, Martha Mendoza and Elena Pacheco from McDonald’s, Mota said.
She said she and her 12 volunteers have been working on the Christmas drive for the past five years.
“We normally have a posada, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to do that this year,” Mota said as she and the other volunteers readied bags of gifts and clothing for distribution.
Instead of the posada, families drove up and parked outside the Del Rio Lions Hut in Buena Vista Park and waited in their vehicles for the gift giving to begin.
“These families were identified by the local public school district, and they do the screening for us. Some of the sponsors wanted to buy the gifts, and they did that, and for some, we bought the gifts,” Mota said.
Mota said her group also works to make sure the children have a warm jacket, and each of the women in the volunteer group donated a jacket for a child in need.
Mota said this was something she used to do when she worked for the school district. Her work there showed her the need in the community, she said.
“After I retired I started to do this on my own, because I saw the need when I was working for the school district,” Mota said.
Among the items provided for the children in the identified families, Mota said, are clothing and toys.
“The children put the name of a toy on their wish lists, and the sponsors purchase a toy for them,” Mota said.
This year, because the recipients drove to the gifting site and had to wait in their cars for the distribution event, Mota also devised a car decoration contest, and the winner received of the contest an extra prize.
“McDonald’s is also providing a Happy Meal to each child,” Mota said.
