The holiday charity has helped families in need during the holidays with toys and food for 35 years.
Brighter Christmas chairman Steve Abercrombie said 771 boxes of toys would be distributed to families on Sunday from the school site at 1600 Tennis Lane, along with boxes of food including a turkey for Christmas dinner.
Nearly 1,750 children will receive toys from Brighter Christmas this year, Abercrombie said.
More than 100 volunteers braved the wind and rain Sunday morning to take a turn in line handing out the boxes.
Volunteer Heather Jaeger, 16, stood in the school’s parking lot directing cars to the curb.
She has been volunteering for Brighter Christmas for a couple of years and was happy that even with the tight economy, things still worked out for the charity.
“I love this. This is what makes my Christmas,” Jaeger said.
Jordan Fisher, 19, a five-year veteran of Brighter Christmas, was joined on distribution day by her mother Heather, 40, who was volunteering for the first time.
“It’s been a lot of fun -- we did some deliveries this morning and we met some of the families," Heather Fisher said.
Like her mother, Jordan Fisher was glad to help out.
“We like to volunteer and help out the families" she said.
A storm passing through the Central Valley slowed the distribution in the early hours as cars trickled into the parking lot.
Tarps and canopies were set up to keep the boxes of toys dry as they waited to be loaded in the vehicles.
Edita Gonzalez, 48, bundled against the cold with earmuffs and a scarf, waited her turn in line with her son Lorenzo to deliver a box of toys.
“We just like to help people," Gonzalez said. "It makes us feel good about helping and I don’t mind if it is cold."
Dennis Nguyen, 16, held a box of toys near the curb as he waited for one family’s car, and said he was glad he could be part of the effort.
“I like this because it makes the families have a good Christmas,” he said.
• Contact Glenn Moore at 830-4252 or gmoore@tracypress.com
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