Local group hosts event providing the Christmas spirit to those in need

Chicanos Por La Causa brought holiday cheer to those in need on Saturday for the 13th annual CPLC Angeles Del Barrio celebration.

This event was presented by Food City in collaboration with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.

Children were able to line up to receive a toy, a treat filled stocking and the opportunity to meet Santa.

The CPLC has celebrated this event in Yuma, Tucson and Phoenix to give back to communities who may not be able to afford Christmas gifts for their children.

Chicanos Por La Causa is a community program providing services in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico

Since 1969, CPLC encourages families to be self-sufficient.

Mary Hurtado, sponsorship manager for CPLC, said this event allowed the group to give back to families in need and connect people in the community.

Their focus for these families is economic development, education, integrated health & human services, and housing.

Services provided include business and employment opportunities; ensuring a solid foundation of education; recovery, restoration, and resiliency.

Ruth Cuen, child development program service coordinator, works for the head start program, with early childhood development.

She says they also offer immigration services, housing, domestic violence and shelter services.

“The program that I work for, we focus on serving children as young as 6 weeks to 5 years old and our program is for migrant and seasonal farm workers, so the criteria for our program is that half of your income has to be from agriculture,” Cuen said.

“It is a unique culture that we serve,” she added.

According to the CPLC, they have 48 programs & services making them the third-largest Hispanic non-profit in the nation.

Hurtado said she thanks Food City, Wells Fargo and APS for donating all their sponsorship dollars to help purchase the toys for the event.

She also thanks Yuma Catholic High School for providing volunteers for the event.