2025 Annual Holiday Toy Giveaway

This holiday season, Champions in Service (CIS) was proud to host our 2025 Annual Toy Giveaway, a joyful community celebration focused on generosity, dignity, and togetherness. Thanks to the collective efforts of our staff, volunteers, and supporters, we were able to create a memorable experience for hundreds of families.

This year, CIS distributed 539 toys to children ages 3–18 and provided meals to 450 community members, ensuring that families could celebrate the season with both joy and nourishment.

Day Designed for Joy and Choice

One of the most meaningful parts of the event was our toy room experience. Each child was invited to enter the toy room with a CIS staff member or volunteer and choose any toy they wanted. This approach was intentionally centered on autonomy, excitement, and allowing each child to feel seen and celebrated.

Beyond toys, the event was filled with festive activities that brought smiles to all ages, including a photo booth for families to capture holiday memories, a snow machine, creating a magical winter experience right in our community, a hot chocolate and coffee station to keep everyone warm, and an ornament decorating station, where children and families could create keepsakes together.

Giving Beyond Toys

In addition to toys and activities, CIS hosted raffles throughout the event, giving away bicycles, skateboards, and household appliances, resources that bring continued joy and support to families well beyond the holiday season.

Community at the Center

The Annual Toy Giveaway is more than an event; it reflects CIS’s commitment to creating spaces of safety, joy, and connection for the communities we serve. For many families, the holidays can be a time of stress and uncertainty. Our goal is to ease that burden while creating moments of celebration, belonging, and hope.

We are deeply grateful to our volunteers, partners, and supporters who made this event possible. Your generosity helped turn a simple idea into a powerful day of impact.

On behalf of all of us at Champions in Service, thank you for helping us spread joy this holiday season.

Celebrating Growth: Our Urban Agriculture Youth Fall Cohort Visits Universal Studios

In December 2025, Champions in Service treated our Urban Agriculture Program youth fall cohort to a special day at Universal Studios! This trip was more than just a fun outing, it was a celebration of the hard work, dedication, and growth our participants showed throughout the fall season.

The youth cohort spent the past few months learning hands-on skills in gardening, California native plant care, and animal stewardship, while also developing teamwork, responsibility, and leadership through our Urban Agriculture Employment Program. To recognize their accomplishments, we wanted to give them an experience that was exciting, rewarding, and memorable.

Why Field Trips Like This Are Important

For the youth in our programs, opportunities like this go far beyond entertainment:

  • Motivation and Recognition: Celebrating achievements in a tangible way helps reinforce the value of hard work and perseverance.
  • Exposure to New Experiences: Visiting a major theme park allows participants to explore spaces they might not otherwise have access to.
  • Team Building and Social Skills: Shared experiences in a fun environment strengthen peer connections and foster collaboration.
  • Positive Reinforcement: Linking effort with rewards helps youth develop a growth mindset and encourages continued engagement in programs.

Seeing the excitement on the faces of our participants as they explored rides, shows, and attractions reminded us why these outings are so important. They’re a chance to reward success, build confidence, and create joyful memories that complement the skills learned in our programs.

At Champions in Service, we’re committed to supporting youth growth both inside and outside the classroom, cultivating not just gardens, but resilient, confident, and inspired young people ready to thrive in their communities.

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