Christmas Comes Early for 1,000 Children And Families at Children's Bureau Event

Christmas came early to nearly 1,000 low-income children and families Saturday, when First 5 LA and the Children's Bureau hosted a holiday celebration and toy giveaway.

The event, at Alexandria Ave. Elementary School in Hollywood, featured a pizza lunch, followed by children's activities and a visit from Santa Claus.

First 5 LA has provided grants totaling $4.2 million to the Children's Bureau, a 100-year-old non-profit organization that assists parents in raising healthy children and offers an array of services to strengthen families and communities.

Programs serving 12,000 parents and children through age 12, include in-home and center-based counseling, child/parent development, health screening and education, school readiness/early literacy, tutoring and reading programs; and community resource referrals.

Participating in the holiday celebration were First 5 LA Commissioners Jonathan Fielding, director of Public Health for LA County and Harriette Williams, appointed by the Commission for Children and Families.