Every child deserves the magic of waking up on Christmas morning to find gifts from Santa waiting under the tree. One way ECS supports our families during the holiday season is through Family-to-Family for the Holidays.  

Family-to-Family for the Holidays, ECS’ annual gift-giving campaign, ensures that every family has a memorable holiday season. Donors who sign up as sponsors are matched with a family that includes at least one member who currently receives services from one of ECS’ programs. In 2023, Family-to-Family provided gifts for more than 315 neighbors from 70 families. Thanks to generous sponsors, many children got to experience a magical Christmas day, a gift you cannot put a price on. 

Head Start parent and 2023 Family-to-Family recipient Precious is a mother to four children, and, like any parent, she understands just how important childhood Christmas can be. “It’s really important for me to be able to give them something and give them different experiences,” she said.  

Every year for Christmas, Precious’ family decorates their house with twinkling lights and enjoys their own family traditions, one of their favorites being marshmallow fights. “I buy bunches and bunches of marshmallows, and we have marshmallow fights,” Precious explained, laughing. “We say ‘one, two, three, go,’ and we just start chucking them at each other, ‘got you, got you.’” Afterwards, they put all their blankets on the floor in front of the TV and watch movies while sipping on apple cider or hot cocoa. 

Thanks to Family-to-Family, Precious was able to create lasting memories for her children with the joy of carefully chosen, donated gifts. When Precious gives her kids gifts, she often wraps the gift inside several layers of boxes. By happenstance, the Family-to-Family sponsor who was matched with Precious’ family last year wrapped the gifts the same way, much to her kids’ excitement.  

The sponsor also went the extra mile with their gift for Precious. She shared that they gave her a set of lotions that lasted for months. The generosity of the sponsors and the gift-giving program added extra joy to Christmas for Precious and her family.  

“It’s so nice to know that you can lean on and count on a beautiful person to donate,” she said. “I hope I have an impact like that, too.”  

Precious feels passionate about being part of the cycle of giving, making her own donations – such as clothes, sheets, and pillowcases – to the ECS Family Engagement Center to help support other families in the community. 

ECS Head Start has provided quality education and childcare for Precious’ four children, but ECS’ touch has gone beyond those essentials. Precious was able to use many of ECS’ wraparound services including Head Start’s prenatal program and referrals for speech therapy for two of her children. “This is one of the best programs I’ve ever interacted with that can actually advocate for you and is with you,” she said.  

Head Start’s community of care expands to parents, as well. Precious participates in parent meetings and the policy committee, sat in on interviews for teachers, and traveled to Texas to represent ECS at a Head Start convention. “[Head Start] helped strengthen my confidence in how I was parenting and what I saw in my children,” she said. 

ECS programs like Head Start and Family-to-Family for the Holidays aim to support families like Precious’. “My children have been touched in a positive way by ECS all their lives,” Precious said.  

Join the cycle of giving. Visit the “Ways to Give” page on www.ecscalifornia.org to learn how you can support parents like Precious and help our youngest community members thrive. As Precious put it, “there’s a gift in giving.” 

*Caption dates may not be exact.