Village RV reprises role of Santa
Hugs, smiles and tears were the order
of the day when Village RV employees
came bearing Christmas gifts last
December to Options for Recovery.
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Village RV employees helped make it a merry Christmas for clients of Volunteers of America's Options for Recovery Transitional Housing Program by adopting the facility for the fifth consecutive year."All the employees pitch in," said Kathy Mula, business manager and coordinator of the dealership's Adopt-a-Family project. "Some of the managers adopt a whole family."
Led by owners Bruce Cooper and Jim Wagner, the employee volunteers arrived in a pair of gift-laden RVs to deliver computers, bicycles, TVs, toys and more to the transitional housing facility on Sacramento's Cleveland Street.
"It was absolutely wonderful," said case manager Diane Waltman of the Dec. 12 delivery. "All of the clients were very happy – some were crying, others clapping, and the kids were jumping for joy."
"It was a great reaction," said Wagner. "You see the joy in their faces. Each year I get a tear in my eye – it touches me deeply knowing we at Village RV were able to do something for people less fortunate than we."
Wagner credits Herron Technology's Kahn Pham for helping fulfill the clients' wish lists. Pham supplied seven refurbished PCs for the project.
When Wagner and Cooper discovered that some of the families hadn't even a Christmas tree, they headed for a nearby tree lot and returned with a dozen 6-foot trees, lights and boxes of ornaments.
"We're a big family here," said Wagner. "We run our business with a family mentality – that family atmosphere. When it comes to times like this, our people aren't greedy, they're not selfish. They do what they can to make sure people have a smile during the Christmas season."
