Approximately 500 children attended with their families.
The Rotary Club of Ventura co-hosted its fourth annual Holiday Event for Ventura Westside Families on Saturday, December 16, 2023. Approximately 500 children attended with their families and received free coats, toys, earrings for mom, a food box, a hot lunch, and a photo opportunity with Santa and his Elf. The event was held at Arise Ventura, 831 N. Olive Street, Ventura.
Hosting the event were Arise Ventura, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Ventura, CHP, Children’s Hunger Fund, Coats for Kids, The Gideons International, Interact, Rotary Club of Ventura, Spark of Love (fire departments), and a generous donation of coats from SoCalGas.
Mr. Neal Lassila, President of the Rotary Club of Ventura, said, “Our Rotary Club is proud to partner with SoCalGas and all the charitable teams and organizations who make this event happen. The Westside Holiday Event has become our way of helping our neighbors who need our collective support to experience the spirit of the holiday season. We help to provide coats, earrings for Mom, toys, food and of course a visit with our very own Rotary Santa! We look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come.”
Ms. Maria Ventura, Senior Public Affairs Manager of SoCalGas, said, “SoCalGas is proud to support the Rotary Club of Ventura’s ‘Coats for Kids’ program which distributed hundreds of coats to children at this year’s holiday event. The work Rotary does to serve our neighbors in need is truly inspiring and we are proud to support their efforts. SoCalGas is committed to supporting local organizations that are working to bring holiday cheer.”
The Rotary Club of Ventura celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. Its members include business leaders, nonprofit leaders and civic professionals who meet regularly and perform charity and community service in Ventura and throughout the world. It is part of Rotary International, which has more than 1.4 million members in 46,000 clubs in 168 countries. People join the club for fellowship, friendship and to give back to our local community and the beyond. The Rotary Club is actively seeking new members. To learn more, visit [moorparkmorningrotary.com] venturarotary.org [venturarotary.org] .
