A mission for spreading cheer
Capital City Rescue distributes hundreds of holiday gifts to families
Dressed as Santa Claus, Earl Alford leaves the Capital City Rescue Mission with bags of Christmas presents for his children on Friday in Albany. Volunteers filled hundreds of bags with presents for people who need help obtaining or giving gifts.
Albany
The rain fell on the 12-yearold boy’s hair as he reached toward the stroller carrying his baby sister and gently covered her head with a pink Minnie Mouse hoodie.
“There you go,” said Miguel Fantanez, who was standing in line on Christmas Day outside of Capital City Rescue Mission’s building on South Pearl Street.
Every Christmas, Capital City Rescue Mission, a non-profit organization in Albany, distributes hundreds of bags filled with presents for people who need help obtaining or giving gifts.
Fantanez, his sister and their aunt Amy Franz inched up the sidewalk on Friday along with dozens of families who were waiting to enter a storage unit that contained gift bags.
Last year on Christmas, Fantanez said, it had been much colder when they stood in line. Now it was just a bit rainy and windy, but he would be home soon with a new set of presents, and he would be able to jump back to playing Fortnite, a popular video game he and his friends love.
“All set your highness,” Franz said to the baby girl as the rain picked up.
Up ahead of them was Cara Scuderi. She hoped when it came time to receive her Christmas bag, it would contain some new
jewelry. She had worn some of her favorite pieces on Christmas morning: a silver-colored necklace with a glittery, orange owl, a pair of earrings shaped like pistols.
“If I ever get rich, I’m gonna donate so much money to Rescue Mission,” Scuderi said.
The Rescue Mission had prepared for a particularly long line of people this year by having around 2,000 gift bags at hand, said Shelly Wood, an office assistant for the organization. In the storage room, where a couple of families were periodically let in at a time, there were holiday lights draped across the walls, as well as presents piled high.
“This has been such a hard, hard year for so many families here,” Wood said. “But at least we can give them some presents to take home.”
On his way out of the presentfilled storage room was Earl Alford, who was dressed as Santa Claus, and he felt like Santa, too.
“We’re just ready to open these toys up back home,” he said, gathering his three children before crossing the street.
He looked at his kids as they smiled and offered to help him carry the six bags in his tight grip.
“This is good, dad,” one of his kids said.
It felt good to see his kids this way, Alford said. He, like many in the city, has lost so much in 2020: His steady source of income. His mother. Sometimes his sanity while trying to raise three kids as a single father.
But there would be toys to remove from their cardboard packaging today, and that was good for now, he said.
“I’m just happy for them,” he said, as the rain continued to drip on down, onto his presents, onto his white beard and mask.