Embracing the season

Mike Sciacca

Three years ago, Barbara Sterbentz entertained a small but powerful

idea to help others less fortunate enjoy blessings of the holiday

season.

With the strong support and legwork of family, friends and donors,

Sterbentz, a Huntington Beach resident, was able to turn her idea

into reality, providing local needy children and families with the

necessities of living through holiday gift-giving.

But it wasn’t all about shiny packages and big boxes -- although

there were a few of those seen at Tuesday’s delivery to families

through the Huntington Beach Community Clinic, the Helping Other

People Everyday office at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church and at

various local homes.

It was about giving from the heart.

“My husband and I are blessed with abundance, and I wanted to be

able to reach out to help other families who lived where I lived, but

were in need,” Sterbentz said. “I decided I would find a local

charity that would let me adopt for Christmas a few of their neediest

families.

“I asked the Helping Other People Everyday office at St.

Bonaventure Church for families and what their needs were. They were

very happy to help me out.”

On Dec. 12 at the Sterbentz home, 32 women gathered for a “holiday

charity tea,” a get-together she started in 2002. There, they went

over details of the gift-giving drive.

Forty women helped put together the drive, adopting 10 families,

which included 40 children, Sterbentz said.

One receiving gifts this year is a 78-year-old great-grandmother

who is adopting three great-grandchildren -- all under the age of

six.

The group received “thousands of dollars” in donations, she said,

and was able to purchase items such as: a bicycle, helmet and lock

for a 10-year-old boy; a television for one family; a Game Boy for an

8-year-old boy; dresses for three sisters who would like to wear them

to church; much-needed blankets for one family; grocery gift

certificates and skateboards, Barbie dolls, a train set and various

articles of clothing.

Sterbentz estimated that more than $4,000 was raised for the gift

drive.

Last year’s spread sheet, she said, revealed that $3,000 had been

raised and spent.

Janice O’Neal, a pediatric social worker for the Community Care

Health Centers, which includes the Huntington Beach Community Clinic,

attended the holiday charity tea.

“Many of these families that are receiving gifts, are families who

are struggling just to put food on the table, and pay rent,” O’Neal

said. “They almost always ask for clothes and shoes and one family,

in particular, wanted and needed blankets. Diapers are a big request,

too.

“But boy, receiving the gift of a toy literally lights up the face

of a child. This is a wonderful, wonderful group of women whose

generosity and graciousness are making a difference for these

families.”

From the first charity tea, Sterbentz knew she couldn’t go it

alone.

“When I started this three years ago, I decided it might be more

fun if I invited my friends to help me adopt these families,” she

explained. “Making the event a social activity, added to the

experience.

“I took a risk and mailed out the invitations. I hoped that by

sharing this experience with friends, we would be able to accomplish

more together. Hosting a tea would let me spend time visiting old and

new friends during the busy holidays, and the guests could choose

which children they would like to give to. That first year, we were

matched with children who were school-aged and teenagers.”

Since that 2002 charity tea, friends and family members have

helped Sterbentz with the invitation reply list, collecting and

tracking purchased gifts and shopping for specific needs and wants of

the adopted families.

Sterbentz said this annual drive could not have been done without

their time and effort.

“This is only possible through the generosity and work of my

friends, my husband and the people at the Huntington Beach Community

Clinic and the HOPE office at St. Bonaventure,” she said. “They have

all been a driving force behind its success. They are very caring

people who want to make a difference.”