Volunteers make like elves for annual Holiday Basket of Miracles
The co-founder and chief executive officer of Miracles for Kids for 19 years, Autumn Strier was once on the receiving side of the charity, where she personally felt the changing impact of helping someone in need.
“I decided to dedicate my life to service as a result,” said Strier, who obtained a degree in public service in order to do so. “I’m very hands on, and I love to stay deeply connected to the families as a volunteer as well as do the administrative serving as the the organization’s executive.”
Miracles for Kids is a nonprofit organization serving children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses and conditions and who also provide programs that assist families financially and emotionally. “We serve the Los Angeles and Orange County children’s hospitals,” said Strier, who herself adopted five families as recipients.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, the Holiday Basket of Miracles was held Saturday at Miracle for Kids office facility in Irvine. The annual event is intended to brighten the lives of low-income families facing the difficult challenge of caring for critically ill children by delivering to them gifts, food and household necessities.
During the 2½ hour event, 300 volunteers gift-wrapped and boxed 3,500 toys, food items and essentials that had been both purchased and donated for delivery to over 380 families.
The volunteers who worked like elves were made up of Scout troops, service organizations such as the Chinese American Lions Club of Orange County, corporations and individuals, including kids.
Among them was Laguna Beach resident, Cathey Curtis, who invited the Laguna Beach Girl Scout troop, thinking it would be a learning opportunity to enlist children to volunteer. “I really believe in all the work that the Miracles team does,” said Curtis, “and I wanted to share it with our Girl Scouts.”
Two of the Scouts, Mia Moss and Lyla Simpson, shared their enthusiasm and echoed one another saying, ”We’re here to make kids happy and we want to give back to our community.”
Costa Mesa resident Jennifer O’Keefe, from LBA Logistics who brought her 10-year-old niece, Amelie Munoz, said, “She’s just learning about volunteering to help other kids. She’s wrapping for 10-year-old Liam, who is in [Children’s Hospital] Los Angeles,” said O’keefe. “My nephew, her cousin, was at Children’s Hospital L.A. because of his heart defects.”
Deanna Wright of Santa Ana, who has a personal connection, has been a volunteer for the organization since 2020 and helped during Saturday’s Baskets of Miracles event.
Her son had been a recipient of support from Miracles for Kids for 13 years before he died last month at age 16. “Alexander was born with a bone marrow defect,” said Wright. “There is no cure, and when the blood transfusions and steroids didn’t work he had to have a bone marrow transplant when he was 18 months old at City of Hope, which his body rejected.”
With Alexander in and out of the hospital during most of his life, Wright emphasized that she wanted to give him the best quality of life for as long as he had to live.
“Miracles for Kids was right next to us the whole time, giving us backpacks, surf camp, Easter baskets, and gave us a place to live,” said Wright. “Miracles for Kids is an inclusive group, for siblings, parents — not just for the sick child,” Wright said. “I can’t even express what their support meant to me.”
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