Nonprofit goes into neighborhoods others won’t to make Christmas possible

This holiday season members of a local nonprofit made sure hundreds of children had at least one gift this year.

For many of the children who turned out for the Outsiders gift giveaway they openly said they didn’t expect to have a present this year.

Hundreds of children from Oxnard lined up early excited to receive a gift on Christmas Eve.

“We are here at Cuesta Del Mar which is the south end of Oxnard and a lot of people say this area is neglected and with a lot of poverty, so we wanted to maximize our efforts,” said Vincent Serrano, founder of Outsiders. “They get a toy each and . . . then they get to take a Christmas picture and then enjoy some treats.”

Outsiders is a non-profit clothing line that puts a portion of their proceeds back into the community through different projects.

This is the third year in a row Outsiders has put a toy drive together, “We go into areas that most people don’t like to go to and that is what we focus on because that is where it’s needed most,” said Ernesto Vargas with Outsiders. “If we can bless one kid especially on Christmas Eve that is already a blessing. Even these kids are saying, a lot of them didn’t plan on getting presents but because of our organizations we are able to bless these families.”

Eight-year-old Gabriella Bates was just one of many who truly feels blessed this Christmas, “I want to say… I want to thank Jesus for what happened today.”