Thousands of San Franciscans gather at Chase Center for free Christmas gifts
SAN FRANCISCO – More than 10,000 people from all across the Bay Area gathered at Chase Center on Saturday for a day filled with ice skating, arts and crafts and free Christmas toys.
Organizers said families were standing outside as early as 11:30 a.m., waiting for 'Joy to the City' to begin at 2 p.m.
"Let's go do something as a family. And it's pretty free, so why not? Nothing to lose," Maria Martinez, who attended the event, told CBS News Bay Area.
Children were also able to choose a Christmas gift to take home with them this year.
"At home, we like to have movie nights so when we have movie nights, it's much easier to use this popcorn popper. Plus, it's really good. I like popcorn," Amorha Moore, who attended the event with her family, said.
For the second year in a row, Assemblymember Matt Haney partnered with Code Tenderloin to host 'Joy to the City.'
"We're building community here. This is not just a neighborhood or one organization. It's for everybody in San Francisco," Haney told CBS News Bay Area.
"We raised the money for it over the last year and went out and bought the toys. The toys are good toys. Sometimes the kid gets a toy and it's not what they wanted. Here, it's actually choose a toy that they want" he added.
Haney said they collected more than 7,000 toys for the event this year, and his mission is to especially help families that have been struggling to make ends meet.
"There are a lot of families, including right here in San Francisco, who a toy means a lot to them. They don't have enough to be able to provide for their kids. So, we all have to come together," Haney said.
Ambassadors with Code Tenderloin, a community outreach program, said this event is something they've been looking forward to all year.
"Oh man, it's been amazing. It's been so busy all these kids running around with toys that they love. It's really cool," Matthew Vowles, an ambassador, told CBS News Bay Area.
Organizers said this fun and festive celebration is so much more than just distributing free toys. They emphasized that more than 1.4 million people face poverty across the Bay Area, and so anything helps during this holiday season.
"When there are families and kids during the holiday season who are not taken care of, that's all of our responsibility," Haney said.
"There's a lot of rough times for a lot of people. And honestly, I wish I knew a lot sooner, I would have gave a lot more to help with this. But, I see a lot of kids who are like going through a very hard time financially and their parents cannot do this. And things like this really make a difference," Martinez said.
