250 SRVUSD Students Get Christmas Gifts, Thanks To CPC Danville

SAN RAMON VALLEY, CA — Community Presbyterian Church Danville has helped collect gifts for 750 students in need across the Bay Area, including 250 enrolled in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

Through the church's Neighbor to Neighbor program — previously known as the Adopt a Family program — volunteers will deliver gifts donated by people who live in and near the San Ramon Valley, according to a news release from CPC Danville. The church hopes that the act of kindness will show struggling families that "there is a God who loves them and is for them,” said Deana Dickerson, director of serve, in the news release.

“Many people might be shocked to know how many families we have struggling financially right here in our own Valley,” Dickerson said. “We wanted to give them hope by shopping for some of the things on their holiday wish lists.”

Bridgit Pelley, co-founder of Boys Team Charity Alamo-Danville League, said in the news release that she was grateful for the program, which allows struggling families to maintain their anonymity.

"“It just breaks my heart to see a mom or dad who most of us would pass in the grocery store without realizing they are barely hanging on,” she said.

CPC Care Pastor Heidi Johnson said in the news release that the church has long worked with local families in need, including students living in cars, without reliable access to meals. The church has helped provide cash and other donations.

Many feel a sense of shame in seeking help in an affluent community, she said.

“They think, ‘I live in this affluent area, I can’t let on that I’m not sure how I’ll make my next mortgage or rent payment,'" Johnson said.

CPC Danville said it helped collect gifts for other Bay Area students — including some in Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco — through partnerships with other churches and organizations such as City Impact, City Team and Today’s Youth Matter.

Learn how to support the Neighbor to Neighbor program here or by emailing serve@cpcdanville.org.