COVER STORY: Yes, California, There Is A Santa Claus

Yes, California, There Is A Santa Claus

O.H. Close Chapter's Long-Running Letters To Santa Program Brings The Miracle Of The Holiday Season To Those In Need  

by Lance Corcoran, CCPOA Chief Communications Officer 

The holiday season can be a magical time - and, on occasion, it can be a time of miracles. For many, the holidays are meant for celebrating family traditions, giving thanks for life's many blessings, and sharing those blessings with those less fortunate.

When it comes to Christmas miracles, one CCPOA member, now retired, quietly began a giving tradition in the Stockton area about 14 years ago - a generous endeavor that has carried on and gains momentum to this day.

All those years ago, Joe Ponce, then a youth correctional officer working in the Central Security unit of the California Youth Authority complex in Stockton, became aware of a few local families in need of a little help at Christmas time. Going into his own pockets for funds, Joe found out what the needs were for those families and provided the gifts and holiday food to help them celebrate a Merry Christmas.

As word spread of Joe's Santa Claus-like generosity, there was a feeling among many CCPOA members that this grand effort should be nurtured and encouraged to grow.

And so, as the story goes, a tradition began in the form of the Letters to Santa Golf Tournament, an event designed to raise the money needed to fund the gift-giving project. Spearheaded by Joe Ponce, Raul Pacheco, and the late Patti Padmore, who were all members of CCPOA's O.H. Close Chapter, the Letters to Santa program provides toys, clothing and food to about 50 low-income families in the Stockton area.

The golf tournament and the cause always held a special place in the heart of longtime member Patti Padmore, who passed away in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. She really believed in the magic of the Letters to Santa project. Each year, she would race around the golf course, making sure that everything was just perfect. Now, the continued success of the project is seen as a sort of tribute to her legacy.

"Patti would be so happy to see that the tradition is being kept alive and continues to help kids," said her friend and colleague, L.C. Collins. "That was what Patti always stood for - helping kids, both on and off the job."

During the golf tournament this year, held on November 9, longtime supporter and CCPOA member Richard Bee told the story of Allison Snyder, a senior at Stockton's Bear Creek High School, who last year put together a toy drive at the school in support of the Letters to Santa program.

"When we went out to deliver the gifts, we wrapped the Bear Creek toys in red for girls and blue for boys. As you can imagine, sometimes when we would show up at a designated house, the neighborhood children noticed what was going on and would come over to see if maybe Santa had something for them as well," said Bee. "Well, the amazing thing was, throughout the day, we never ran out of toys in the bag. It was almost magical," he added with a smile.

This year's tournament was a huge success with a full field of 144 golfers enjoying a beautiful fall day at the Brookside Country Club in Stockton. CCPOA members from O.H. Close and the NCYC complex, as well as members from DVI, CMF, Folsom, and CSP-Sacramento, either sponsored holes or sent players for the tournament. In fact, Folsom sent three foursomes, and CMF C.O. Roger Parsad helped to provide prizes for the charity raffle. 

In addition to CCPOA's event sponsorship, the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, Crime Victims United, and local investment management firm Valley Financial Services provided funding and foursomes for the tournament. A special thanks to Lindsay Randolph and Valley Financial for their years-long support of the Letters to Santa project.

O.H. Close Chapter President Brian Gibbons was on hand to make sure everything came off without a hitch, and longtime volunteers Lisa Gamble and Chris Espinosa were there to make sure Brian survived the day. Longtime CCPOA members Bob Roe and Angelo Haro were in charge of the barbecue, and served up the best hot dogs and hot links at any Letters to Santa golf tournament anywhere that day! On the Vegas hole, Sheryl Straub kept things lively, and, as they say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

All of these wonderful volunteers - and so many others - work hard to make this event a success year after year, and they do it out of the goodness of their hearts, on their own time, with no compensation.

The Letters to Santa event and the work of our dedicated volunteers is a testament to the positive effect and commitment to service that the men and women of our profession have within their communities. Given the day-to-day grind of the correctional profession, the inherent negativity within the walls, the lack of respect that many experience in their jobs, it is inspiring to see our members rise above it all and work to make things better for others.

In 1897, a New York Sun editorial writer named Francis P. Church responded in print to a letter from an 8-year-old girl named Virginia, who asked the question, "Is there a Santa Claus?"

Church responded, in part, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias..."

For many families in the Stockton area, there truly is a Santa Claus - a Santa Claus who exists because of the love, generosity, and devoted efforts of our correctional family.

And that, my friends, is a Christmas miracle.

• volume 26 issue 6