Taos Pueblo Santa Crew spreads holiday cheer
WHEN THE YOUNG adults and youth of Taos Pueblo realized their little brothers and sisters wouldn’t be able to enjoy the kind of Christmas Taos Pueblo has had in the past, they rallied all their holiday cheer to bring a special event together for their community.
The Santa Crew creatively and safely came up with a way to give gifts to Taos Pueblo kids who have weathered this strange year. Complete with Santa Claus showing up to the event accompanied by a tribal police escort, the Santa Crew gave gifts, bags of treats and books to hundreds of smiling little faces at the Taos Pueblo Department of Natural Resources, during their drive-thru toy distribution Sunday, (Dec. 20).
COVID-19 continues to halt celebrations and gatherings, including the Taos Pueblo Day School’s usual Christmas Program, classroom Christmas parties and celebrating the holidays with extended family who live off the reservation.
But, in less than two weeks, a team of youth and young adults – Brandon Lujan, Jalen Kopepassah, Chaslyn Tafoya, Kona Mirabal, Heaven Suazo,
Masa Mirabal, Karmen Fogarty and Kiersten King, joined by many Taos Pueblo community members and various tribal programs, came together to wrap hundreds of gifts and package those classic brown-bag treats for a holiday event like never before at Taos Pueblo. The Santa Crew promoted the event on the popular KTAO radio program, Moccasin Wire. They also created posters, but their most important job, may have been assisting the adults to purchase cool gifts.
The quick-moving project was led by the Youth Outreach Program of the Taos Pueblo Division of Health & Community Services, in partnership with other Health & Community Services programs, Taos Pueblo Gaming Commission, Taos Pueblo Division of Natural Resources, Taos Day School, Red Willow Farms and Taos Pueblo Promotions. The Taos Pueblo Governor’s Office and War Chief’s Office encouraged the event and supplied the Santa Crew with refreshments.
In a press release to Tempo, Aurora Valdez, the community wellness manager for the Taos Pueblo Health & Community services stated, “The idea really caught its fire once a group of young adults at Taos Pueblo entered into the conversation and ran with the project.”
Volunteer Brandon Lujan said, “Having to deal with COVID-19 is tough for our kids. They couldn’t enjoy a normal school year, much less holiday parties. I remember the excitement I used to have during our Christmas parties at Taos Day School. We wanted to give back this year to the youth and remind them that their community is here for them.”
Knowing the economic constraints COVID has placed on many Taos Pueblo families, the group wanted to safely ensure as many children as possible received a gift.
The group used social media to raise funds for the event. With a humble goal of just $3,000, the group hoped to provide gifts for at least 300 Taos Pueblo youth. After the launch of the fundraiser Wednesday (Dec. 9), via the
Taos Pueblo Promotions Facebook page, within 24 hours the group raised more than half the funds toward their goal, according to the press release. Three days later, with large contributions from Taos community members and two other organizations, fundraising closed days ahead of deadline, the press release continued, with “11,053.43 actually obtained!”
Exceeding their goal, the group was able to provide gifts and, just as importantly, use their funds to shop for toys, locally. Last week, the Santa Crew used a large majority of the funds at Twirl, Unicorn Supply, Taos Mountain Outfitters, Amina’s Children’s Boutique, Bison Star Naturals and Bethany Alaniz’s Beth-a-Sketch Sticker Shop.
Youth Outreach Coordinator Naomi Concha said, “This wasn’t just a project to give gifts. We know it’s been a tough year for our local shops and a lot of the donations came from our Taos community, it didn’t feel right exporting those funds away from Taos.”
The generous donations also allowed the group to spend more per gift, and purchase more gifts than were anticipated.
The group is grateful for all of the donations and volunteer time the project received. The level of support goes to show how much the Taos community cares about our children, and how loved Taos Pueblo youth are by their community.
“We are proud of our students navigating this year in school faced with major challenges, and we will always be there to guide our older students when they want to give back to their community,” said Concha.
Many volunteers went beyond their work and personal time to put the event together. Local businesses who partnered as vendors were generous enough to give a discount on the gifts. Nonprofits like the Heart House, Lion’s Club Joy of Reading Program, and Twirl donated items, books and gift cards.
The group sends a special thanks to the Taos Pueblo Division of Public Safety that supplied a Santa and a few “elven” officers; and also to the Town of Taos for lending their Santa suit in a pinch. The group hopes to make this event annual, and next time, they will definitely give themselves more than two weeks to plan.
For more information about the event or other media inquiries, contact Aurora Valdez at Pueblopromo@gmail. com or (520) 858-3615.
‘This wasn’t just a project to give gifts. We know it’s been a tough year for our local shops and a lot of the donations came from our Taos community, it didn’t feel right exporting those funds away from Taos.’
NAOMI CONCHA