The Hollister School District and Legacy Church are finding ways to make Christmas even brighter for local families.
In the third year of the partnership between the district and Legacy Church, organizers changed things up a bit in 2025 with annual efforts to connect donating sponsors with local families. This year, church members not only donated gifts to local children, but also had the opportunity to provide presents on students’ specified wish lists and turkey dinners for their families.
This year’s collaboration included 20 sponsored families—18 from the Hollister School District and another two from Hollister High School. This year, the program focused on presents for the children and included those students providing their wish lists to sponsors from Legacy.
The process started in October, when the church identified sponsors through a pumpkin patch theme during services where church members committed to donating. With church members donating along with some Ladd Lane Elementary School staff members, it allowed the district to project the number of sponsored recipients.
“We want to alleviate some of the financial stress for the parents,” said Eliana Delgadillo, Social Emotional Coordinator for the District. “They have to make hard choices around the holidays.”
Delgadillo worked with the District’s Social Emotional team and identified two families per site who then had their children fill out forms noting their wish lists. Those items included preferred toys or character-themed gifts, but also presents like clothes, new shoes or winter coats.
Delgadillo teamed up with Ana and Mike Perez from Legacy Church to coordinate the gift exchanges, while the church organized the gift packages and provided donated turkey dinners with all the fixings provided as well.
On Dec. 8 and 9, Delgadillo, Legacy Pastor Josh Herrera and Legacy volunteers distributed the gifts to sites, while Social Emotional team members handed over those offerings to families to maintain anonymity.
“Holidays are not always happy for everybody. If we can bring that light, that comfort, that smile on that child’s face, for us it’s worth it,” Delgadillo said.
Ana Perez explained how the church pumpkin patch theme at October services included one pumpkin listing half of the items on each student’s wish list—along with the child’s age—giving the chance for more donors to provide gifts.
She estimated at least 80-85 church members donated, with a total of 96 pumpkins. She said the church teamed up with another community organization to provide turkeys with sides for all of the families.
“Our church members are awesome,” Perez said. “God is great.”
