WATSONVILLE—A boy living in the San Andreas farmworker community got his Christmas wish this year: a unicycle.
The unconventional request took scouring the county’s bike shops to fulfill, but the effort was well worth it, said Gladys Anderson, who has run the Christmas Project for 41 years.
“The look on his face was absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I love being able to give them a little bit of joy.”
Anderson launched the Christmas Project when, as a child protective service worker, she met a 12-year-old girl who was hoping for a doll for Christmas, a toy she had never owned.
Anderson brought the doll – and toys for the girl’s siblings.
The event has grown since that day, and now includes 200 families – 1,000 people in all – who live at affordable housing complexes for agricultural workers scattered throughout the Pajaro Valley. This included San Andreas, Villas Del Paraiso, Paulsen, Lakeview and Murphy’s Camp.
In addition to about 2,000 wrapped Christmas toys, workers on Monday handed out parcels of food, meant to be the makings of a holiday feast, which comes from Second Harvest Food Bank.
“Our main goal is to make sure the people have the food they need to survive,” said SHFB Development and Marketing Officer Suzanne Willis. The organization spends the year raising food and funds to feed hungry people, with the peak activity during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“But remember that hunger just isn’t around the holidays,” Willis said.
