SOUTH GLENDALE—Hundreds of poor families stood in the pouring rain for up to three hours Saturday morning for a chance to receive free toys for Christmas.
Glendale resident Rosa Nogueda was one of the first in line outside New Horizons Family Center at 5 a.m. in the hopes of receiving a box of canned goods and toys for her children.
Despite the weather, Nogueda said she was determined to make this holiday special for her children. So like the past few years, Nogueda made a trip to the center on the 700 block of South Glendale Avenue for its annual toy giveaway.
"This event is good thing because we really need it," she said.
Without the center's toy and food donations, Nogueda and her family's holiday would have likely been somber, she said.
Despite a myriad of financial difficulties at New Horizons, the center's founder Maria Prieto managed to pull together her 16th annual toy drive for hundreds of poor children.