Jose Flores said he had never seen such generosity.

With tears in his eyes and his hand over his mouth, he watched as Cardinal Roger Mahony, several priests, members of the Brothers of the Sick Poor religious order, employee volunteers from Staples and Los Angeles police officers carried three mattresses, a couch and several boxes filled with gifts and food for his family up a long flight of stairs into his small apartment in downtown Los Angeles.

"I never prayed for this much, but I'm grateful," said Flores, who came with his family from Guatemala 14 years ago. "Nobody has ever given us anything before. God listened to us and we're praying for everybody."

The Flores family was one of 311 families with more than 700 children that received Christmas presents Dec. 16 during the Adopt-A-Family program at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles. At 7 a.m., more than 800 volunteers from parishes throughout the archdiocese gathered in the Cathedral for a prayer service and a quick breakfast of donuts and coffee before beginning their work delivering presents to needy families.

Jonvee Manzon, from St. Genevieve Church, Panorama City, was driving one of hundreds of SUVs and trucks lined up in the cathedral parking lot waiting to have gifts loaded for delivery. "It is very fulfilling," she said, and it is the reason she has kept returning.

The well-organized program begins months before delivery day. Starting in August, Lydia Gamboa, Adopt-A-Family coordinator, begins her work with the help of the Los Angeles Police Department in identifying some of the poorest housing projects in downtown Los Angeles. Many of the families in the buildings rent only a room and share a common kitchen and bathroom with other families on their floor.

"If we take on a building, we take on all the families living there," Gamboa said. "We make sure all of the families get adopted and no one is left out."

After the buildings are identified, Gamboa and a group of volunteers go to each of the homes and conduct personal visits with the families to determine their individual needs. During the 30-minute interview, Gamboa or one of the volunteers ascertain the number of people in the household, find out their clothing sizes and ask for any specific requests such as a couch, an iron, broom, or school supplies.

"Each box is tailor-made for the family," Gamboa said. "There are quite a few people who are sleeping on floors."

By the end of September, the information on all of the families is gathered and lists are distributed to donor families and groups for "adoption." Gamboa said that many of the downtown businesses, such as the Capital Investment Group, take on the program as their employee community outreach project.

Much of the food donations come from 28 Catholic schools in the archdiocese that hold drives for food, toiletries, blankets, socks and other items that accompany the deliveries. Families, organizations, parishes and other groups adopt a family and agree to gather up all of the gifts. Gamboa said that many of the volunteers had been helping with the project since its inception and are integral to its success.

La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks this year adopted 32 families. The students and staff provided clothing, toys, books, furniture, housewares, applicances and other goodies for approximately 160 individuals who live in downtown Los Angeles, said Notre Dame Sister Lisa Megaffin, director of development. Two truckloads of gifts were sent to the Cathedral on Dec. 13.

Ralph Hernandez, from St. Mariana de Paredes, Pico Rivera, is one of the volunteers who have been helping in the program for about 15 years.

"I really enjoy it," he said. "It's like a two-month project. The day before, we stage [organize] all of the gifts between 2 p.m. to about 7 p.m. to have it all ready. We have a lot of help."

Regina Dinnel, a parishioner of St. James in Redondo Beach, has been volunteering with her father, cousins, uncles and now husband for at least eight years.

"It's a family thing," she said. "We all do it now. Each year it's getting bigger and bigger and it's terrific."

Beginnings and growth
Sixteen years ago at the former St. Vibiana's Cathedral, then-rector Msgr. Terrance Fleming enlisted the help of the newest graduating class of deacons to help him prepare about 100 items. Since then, the program has expanded to double its size.

"Most of the volunteers come through word of mouth," said Msgr. Fleming, now director of the archdiocesan Mission Office and pastor of St. Brendan Church in Hancock Park. "A lot of teenagers come; the parents bring the teenagers so they help out, too. There are a couple of families that have been coming for 10 our more years. The cardinal has also been with it from the beginning and he's delivered every single time."

Gamboa said that all items given are brand new for a reason. It is important, she said, that people who are living in poor conditions are able to experience a special Christmas they won't forget.

"Msgr. Fleming believes that every child should have a magical Christmas," Gamboa stated.

For Captain Jodi Wakefield of the Los Angeles Police Department, this was her second year helping with the program.

"I really enjoy it because I get to see the people we get to service," she said. "It gives me a different insight. Many of my officers enjoy that because they can help. It is one of the fun things we get to do."

Eileen Gingerich, a parishioner from St. Paul of the Cross, La Mirada, read about the program in The Tidings and wanted to adopt a family for the first time this year. She, her husband Mike, her daughter Lorene and a family friend also decided to help with the deliveries and brought their oversized truck. They went to about eight homes and personally carried the items to the families.

"They are so excited," Gingerich said of the families receiving the gifts. "There are people standing out in the street asking if they were the family getting the delivery. Kids are jumping up and down."

Gingerich said she was surprised at how small some of the apartments that they visited were. She was especially touched by a delivery to a single mother who had five children, from an infant to a small child, all sleeping together in a one-room apartment with only a double bed.

Msgr. Fleming said he finds it rewarding to see some of teenagers who have been helped return to help others. He said that earlier in the week, a highway patrolman stopped by his office to tell him he had been helped 15 years ago and was now reassigned to the area. The officer was surprised to see how large the program had gotten and he was grateful.

Said Msgr. Fleming, "It is bringing people together and showing that the church is doing things as well as the local police. There is great cooperation with the officers, community leaders and downtown businesses. It is a wonderful experience."