Pandemic is no Barrier to Making Christmas Brighter for Columbian, Carlile and Minnequa Students

It’s going to take a lot more than a historic global pandemic to keep Santa Claus from touching the hearts of families from the Columbian, Carlile and Minnequa elementary school communities.

For the past 15 years, Ray Aguilera – founder of the Pueblo Poverty Foundation and a city councilman representing the Bessemer area – has spearheaded a festive Christmas giveaway to reward Columbian, Carlile and Minnequa students for their academic efforts throughout the year. 

But with pandemic-related restrictions strictly limiting public gatherings, hopes that the Bessemer Christmas could be staged were initially dim.

Ingenuity, however, is one of Santa and his elves’ strongest points.

“There was no way I was going to cancel this year’s event,” said Santa Claus Aguilera. “How could I? Everybody’s hurting and I couldn’t let these kids not have a nice Christmas. Everybody really worked hard these last couple of days and we were able to find a way to put this together.”

That “way” was an innovative, socially distanced drive-through platform that occupied a good portion of the Colorado State Fairgrounds Wednesday.

Through partnerships with a network of community organizations and businesses, including Little Caesars Pizza, Pueblo Food Project, Executives Partnering in Education, Care and Share Food Bank, Black Hills Energy and “Mr. Magic and Company,” hundreds of students and their families were treated to a robust holiday extravaganza reflective of the benevolent and caring spirit of Santa Claus Aguilera and his extensive army of elves.

A succession of distribution stations inside the fairgrounds, manned by school administrators and staff, and representatives of the partnering entities, saw the grateful patrons bestowed with the fruits of the most wonderful time of the year: new toys, books, balloon animals, pizza and soda pop, and goodie-filled stockings.

For 150 students selected by school counselors based on need, the holiday giving included a new bicycle, with a number of families also taking home a Christmas tree.

All families benefitted in the form of do-it-yourself home weatherization kits, courtesy of Black Hills Energy, and an estimated 70,000 pounds of food items.

From the Care and Share Food Bank came large boxes of non-perishables, while the City of Pueblo’s Pueblo Food Project employed COVID-19 relief funds to provide families with turkeys, potatoes, and locally made tamales, holiday cookies and potica.

On hand to greet students and their families, and offer support to the team of distributors, was Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar.

“It’s wonderful to see so many volunteers out here today, trying to make this a merry Christmas for so many people,” Mayor Gradisar said.

And while the bounty of gifts and goodies was most certainly appreciated by the little ones of the Columbian, Carlile and Minnequa school communities, there was a much greater treasure, intangible in nature, shared by both recipient and benefactor.

“The kids are getting all these wonderful things, and that’s great,” said Abbie Spillman, a literacy specialist who spearheads an annual vocabulary challenge at the trio of recipient schools. “But if you watch their little faces when they see their teachers, that’s where the biggest joy is. They haven’t seen them in person for so long.

“So for the kids to be able to say, ‘Hey, my teacher is still out there and is still caring about me’ is the most wonderful part of this.”

The sentiments expressed by Ms. Spillman were echoed by the principals from the schools benefitting from Bessemer Christmas.

“Every time we’ve talked with kids, all they want is to see their teachers,” noted Minnequa Principal Katie Harshman. “And while I was informing families of this event, the kids kept asking, ‘Are our teachers going to be there?’ 

“So not only is this a platform to make connections with food, toys, books and essentials for the holiday, it gives all of us an opportunity to check-in and say ‘Hi!’ And the look in the teachers’ eyes, and the look in the students’ eyes, shows a high level of emotion.”

Decked out in a resplendent and head-turning green outfit reflecting his love of the movie “Elf,” Carlile, Principal Jimmie Pool welcomed the opportunity for that socially distanced “human touch.”

“I believe that’s just as important as the gifts and food,” Mr. Pool said. “The hardest part of this whole pandemic is not seeing the kids, and not having that interaction with them: especially those kids who have been online from the start. We’re glad that they had that choice, but we miss them.

“So just to see their smiles, and for them to be able to interact with their teachers and staff, is one of the best things we could ask for.”

Michelle Alcon Montoya, principal at Columbian, agreed wholeheartedly.

“Their teachers have missed the kids so much, and as far as instilling a feeling of normalcy, this is really helping,” said Ms. Alcon Montoya. “I know it will help relieve some of that anxiety they might feel during the holidays, to know that their teachers are safe and secure.

“And for us, to be able to see them so happy has been the biggest reward. We’ve seen screams and tears and a lot of excitement. It’s been awesome.”

Before the youngsters and their families departed the fairgrounds, Santa Claus Aguilera made sure to offer one departing present: a bit of sage advice.

“Work hard in school and wear your mask. And be sure to have a merry Christmas.”