Cardinal Roger Mahony joined hundreds of dedicated volunteers on a sunny Saturday morning to brighten the Christmas holidays for nearly 250 impoverished families in downtown Los Angeles.

The 2004 Adopt-A-Family Program culminated on Dec. 18 when volunteers fanned out across the skid row area to deliver boxes of festively wrapped presents and grocery supplies to needy families.

"The idea of Christmas is a new hope, new beginning and new life," Cardinal Mahony told Adopt-A-Family recipient Cheryl Thompson and her daughter Yesenia, 7, as he helped carry in gifts to the family.

Thompson and her daughter were shocked to find the archbishop of Los Angeles on their doorstep at 7:30 on a weekend morning, but they were thrilled when they learned the reason for the visit.

"I'm floored by all of this and we're so elated. Things are really looking up for us," said Thompson who told the Cardinal she just recently found a job as a secretary. "When I opened the door it was like that car commercial where all these people keep coming out of this little tiny car," said Thompson of all of the Cardinal's "elves" bringing gifts into her small apartment.

The Adopt-A-Family program started from the dream of a local priest wanting to share the joy of Christmas with poor families in the area. Msgr. Terrance Fleming set out in the 1980s to help families living in the area of the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral. Today the program has grown to include families throughout downtown Los Angeles and this year supplied over 600 children with a joyous Christmas.

On Saturday more than 600 volunteers filled the Cathedral to load up their cars and deliver gifts. Since October, program coordinator Lydia Gamboa and her staff of volunteers have been interviewing needy families, sorting and wrapping donated gifts, and organizing delivery.

"It's such a blessing to me to see all of these people come out and support the program," noted Gamboa who has been a volunteer since 1992 and took over the coordination of the program five years ago. "What a way to start Christmas and show the true meaning of Christmas --- by helping others."

Gamboa said the enthusiasm and generosity of the donors and volunteers make the program work. "We have the support from so many of our Catholic schools, the Archdiocesan Catholic Center and so many local corporations," she said. "The support is overwhelming."

This is first time in recent years that the program was able to adopt families in the skid row hotels, thanks to the LAPD becoming involved in the program.

"It's important for us to go back into the hotels because that's where the most needy families are," said Gamboa. "Because of safety issues we weren't able to include these hotels in the past, but now that the LAPD is working with us we will be able to do even more hotels next year."

For Gamboa and her extended family the Adopt-A-Family program has become a holiday tradition, with over 32 members participating and gathering for brunch after finishing gift delivery.

As with the Gamboa family, many families who participate each year use gift delivery day as the kickoff day for their own holiday season.

"We plan our holiday around it. It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't do it," said six-year participant Juan Mavridis who brought his wife and daughter.

Mavridis, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Covina noted that "doing this really makes you stop and think about what's really important --- it makes you remember that Christmas is about giving."

Amy Gross, 13, and her sister Allison, 11, have been helping the Adopt-A-Family program since they were small children and say that this is what they look forward to every holiday season.

"It's fun," said Amy. "I love seeing the smiles on their faces."

"It makes me happy," added Allison, "to help people who don't have as much as we do."