It’s a children’s wonderland with presents, face painting, food, inflatable jumpers, a petting zoo and Santa Claus. On Dec. 3, 2004, Students for International Mission Service (SIMS) gave a Christmas party for 72 underprivileged children on the SIMS lawn.

LLU students and staff volunteered to “adopt” a preschool child for the three-hour party. Each volunteer brought a gift for his or her “adopted” child, and at the end of the party Santa came and passed out the presents to each child.

“I think this is a great opportunity for us to get involved with the community,” shares Kiara Kim, first-year physical therapy student. “We’re so hung up on our own school and our schedules, just to come out on our own time and get to know people from the community is a good thing.”

SIMS teamed up with the San Bernardino County Head Start program. Project Head Start is a federally-funded child development program designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, physical, nutritional and psychological needs.

The next day, SIMS provided another Christmas party for Community Kids Connection (CKC). CKC is a two-hour program that provides Loma Linda University students with opportunities to develop relationships with children and families from diverse backgrounds in the neighboring communities of the SAC–Norton clinic. More than 100 children, ranging in age from infants to 14, partied with glee as they ate food and opened presents from the LLU community.

Just two days before the CKC party, SIMS was short more than 100 gifts. In two days, after several phone calls and e-mails, SIMS had an overwhelming show of support from different LLU departments, employees, students and other individuals from the community. The support was so great that they had extra gifts.

“This truly turned out to be a blessing because the extra gifts can be taken on our SIMS Christmas mission trip to a nutrition rehabilitation center and home for malnourished children in Honduras,” says Martine Polycarpe, M.P.H., director of SIMS. “We sincerely thank all those who graciously support what we do at SIMS because we would not be as successful without their prayers, gifts and resources.”