Charity Turns Children’s Blues to Cheer at Annual Christmas Party

Antquin Williams was preparing for a blue Christmas.

“It would be sad, because I wouldn’t get any presents and all the other kids will,” the 11-year-old said.

But on Monday, a charity event complete with holiday songs, cartoon characters and--best of all--Santa Claus with bags and bags of presents, turned holiday blues to cheer.

Next to Antquin was Clifford Sinclair, another 11-year-old from the same neighborhood near Downtown Los Angeles, eating a hot dog. The food was one of the highlights of the day for Clifford, but so was Beetlejuice, an actor going from table to table, clowning around as the movie character with 300 kids at Universal Studios.

Clifford and his eight-year-old brother, William, were sure that had it not been for this party, run by Viking Charities, Christmas would have been “boring.”

This was the 43rd year that Viking Charities--a men’s professional organization that organizes charitable events--has held this party for disadvantaged children. This was the first time the party--previously held in smaller halls--was at Universal. The larger venue allowed organizers to invite twice as many children this year. The children came from the Salvation Army, the Muscular Dystrophy Assn., area orphanages and Para Los Ninos, an agency that provides family services such as child care and latchkey help.

Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle paid a visit. Laurel and Hardy playfully pulled at pigtails. Woody and Winnie Woodpecker stopped by and so did someone playing “Doc” from the movie “Back to the Future.”

“There’s so much here!” said Daisy Beles, 10 from Ninth Street School, one of 80 children from Para Los Ninos through their “off-track” program, those who are not in school now because of the year-round program.

Elizalde Lucero, an 8-year-old from Para Los Ninos, had a snowman painted on his face. He would like to see a real one someday. For Christmas, he said he wanted a CD player.

“It makes them happy to be here,” said Adriana Padilla, a counselor with Para Los Ninos.

Organizers guessed that they gave away about $5,000 worth of toys.

“You can see where the goes,” said Viking Charities spokesman Chuck Panama said as he watched the line of children filing out after their visit with Santa. “It’s a good feeling.”

“This really cheered up his Christmas,” said Susan Coffey of Whittier, who brought her 10-year-old son, Brian, after getting an invitation through the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. “We didn’t expect to go to anything like this.”