Thousands of children were able to have toys for the holidays this year because of Modesto Gospel Mission’s Christmas event Monday.
In the four hours the event lasted, over 3,000 people were served and over 4,000 presents were given to children.
This year, there was no preregistration was required. All families needed to do was wait in line to be presented with a Christmas meal and gifts.
“My hope is that some of these kids, they get something that they’re never going to forget, something that they haven’t had before,” said Scott Pernice, the mission’s director. “Something that they haven’t had before and you get to see that on their faces, and that’s why I love it.”
The number of families helped by the event — which has been going on for decades — has increased, said Pernice. For a number of years, Gospel Mission’s Christmas event served about 1,500 people. But that number steadily has grown over the years.
Some volunteers speculated it was because there was an increase in need — families have been increasingly burdened by economic factors such as the rise in cost of living and inflation.