Alas, December has arrived, along with the season of giving! With Christmas around the corner, ACHS alumni Celika Gascon (℅ 2018) has taken the initiative to create the service project #MERRYCHRISTMASVALLEJO. This project entails gathering supplies to curate care packages for the less fortunate during these troubling times. Packages may include blankets, blankets, first-aid kits, water bottles, nonperishable foods, and more. Gascon plans to coordinate a team of helpers to set up tables in downtown Vallejo to distribute these goods to community members on Christmas night. She is collecting donations from throughout the community of Vallejo and American Canyon and recruiting a few ACHS students as volunteers.
Interested in participating? Well, there are numerous ways you can support this cause. The easiest way to help out is to promote this event on social media (promotional flyers located at the bottom of this article). Another is to raise funds within your neighborhood. Monetary donations can be transferred over Venmo @celikagutierrez (all proceeds will go to #MERRYCHRISTMASVALLEJO). If you would like to create your own care packages, you can also contact Celika Gascon to see an example bag or ask more about the project. Quick ways to reach her are on Instagram @losercelika, or email celikagutierrez@yahoo.com.
"I'm hoping this will spread some light and love to the community. For those receiving, I hope they know that love exists, support exists, and that people care. For those giving, I hope they see the beauty in unity and community. Love is a universal language, and we all speak it. We're all here for it. I think it'll be a really beautiful experience for everyone involved." - Celika Gascon
During an interview, the alumni expressed that she intends to spread the Christmas spirit. It is important to show kindness and love to everyone.
"It's about spreading love to those who experience the holidays a little differently than we do. It's for the ones who spend the seasons in the cold and dark, for the ones who don't have families to see, a home to go to, or a warm dinner to eat. It's for them."
She experienced a revelation on a car ride home. She realized
"that we, as humans, have the power to create. We have the ability to take the hundreds of thousands of thoughts that run wild in our heads and create something with it, whether it be a song, a play, a fashion design, a dance, a project, literally anything! We can take these thoughts and make them tangible and bring them into the physical world."
Realizing this, she brainstormed creative ways to make a difference on those around her. The full concept of #MERRYCHRISTMASVALLEJO was born after listening to Justin Bieber's rendition of Someday at Christmas. "We'll see a land // With no hungry children, no empty hand // One happy morning people will share // Our world where people care." Fueled by these lyrics, Celika took action.
She first fleshed out details with the Vallejo Community and Volunteer Coordinator, Shelee Loughmiller. Then she began promoting her idea to her church, Jesus Risen Lord, and the Vallejo City Council. She continued her mission by contacting different local non-profits and posting her donation flyers on various social media platforms. Nearing the end of November, Gascon has raised over $1,300 and is still counting!
Everyone has the power to create or contribute to change. This is a local project that strides to bring comfort to members of the community--not only during the Winter season but during a global pandemic as well. Not everyone has the opportunity to volunteer outside on Christmas night, but a simple share on social media can also reach the hearts of many. How will you give during this Christmas season?
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