MVCAF Sends Holiday Package to our Troops Overseas

The Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation (MVCAF) has spearheaded a Project Rudolph effort once again this year. The MVCAF began a partnership with Project Rudolph, a non-profit group located in Idaho that gathers hand-made ornaments, letters, cards and candy to distribute to troops serving in outposts overseas. These holiday packages show up in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and other North African countries. In some instances, it is the only gift that soldiers may receive for the holidays. Last year, Richard L. F. Archer Sr., MVCAF President and CEO, was looking for a community-based project as a way to say “Thank You” to service men and women. Getting a late start, MVCAF had a decorating event at their Vanguard Community Art Gallery, located at the Moreno Valley Mall, and also worked with a Girl Scout troop. Within a couple of weeks, the groups had made 150 hand-made ornaments, along with a few Christmas cards. Everything was shipped to Idaho, then to Germany, and then on to the various outposts. This year, Archer got a jump on preparing for Project Rudolph. He began getting word out to the local PTA groups, to the Moreno Valley Unified School District, the City of Moreno Valley, and to other groups. Samantha McClung, an art gallery volunteer from one of the local high schools, chose to take on Project Rudolph as part of her public service program. McClung worked with Debby Johnson, who is a local artist represented at the Vanguard and an instructor at the Taylor Martial Arts Academy. The karate dojo sponsored a Project Rudolph event in October. The young people there created a number of hand-made ornaments, along with some letters. Various school classrooms also worked on the project. Pam Picard, manager at Michaels, agreed to sponsor a Project Rudolph room at the City’s Artober Fest 2013. Michaels donated several ornament kits, and one of their employees volunteered to work with kids at Artober Fest, along with additional assistance from McClung. The MVCAF’s Vanguard Community Art Gallery held two days of making ornaments and writing letters on Nov. 2 and 3. The gallery also served as the collection point for others to drop off their items for the troops. In total, over 400 Christmas ornaments were created along with 100 letters, 90 cards, an assortment of decorated paper bags, and over ten pounds of candy. The package was shipped with care on Friday, Nov. 8, to Idaho. Project Rudolph will assemble hundreds of volunteers to take all the collected items and to put together gift bags for the troops. Over 15,000 gift bags will be shipped to Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Archer stated, “The people of Moreno Valley can be very proud as to how they worked together on Project Rudolph. They sent a clear message of how much they truly appreciate the dedication of our men and women in our military as they work to preserve the freedoms we enjoy.” Ray Archibald, one of the key people with the Project Rudolph program in Idaho, stated, “We are so thankful for the generous response from Moreno Valley, California and the Moreno Valley Cultural Arts Foundation. The ornaments, candies, and other items mean so much to the troops deployed all over the world and away from family during the holidays.” Archer said that the MVCAF intends to double its effort for 2014.