WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - On Friday, November 19, Preschoolers at James Marshall Parent Nursery School (JMPNS) kicked off the West Sac Kids Give Back donation season with a care package assembly party in partnership with local non-profit West Sac Kids Give Back.

West Sac Kids Give Back is a program that provides local children an opportunity to learn the virtues of community service during the holidays. West Sacramento City Council member Quirina Orozco founded the non-profit in 2014 to promote philanthropy from an early age.

“When children have safe, kid-friendly opportunities to engage in community service, we ALL win,” said Orozco. “Volunteering helps kids connect with others while allowing them to build character, empathy, and social awareness that is sometimes hard to learn in other contexts. It’s a great way to build community and shape great leaders for the future.”

In previous years, West Sac Kids Give Back has collected donated necessities through local organizations and businesses around town and then hosted a massive care package assembly party for distribution to homeless neighbors. Due to the pandemic, the collection continued last year but the care package assembly was paused.

Last month, the tradition continued.

The families at James Marshall Parent Nursery School set a goal to donate enough supplies for 50 care packages. “We look for opportunities to volunteer in the community every year, getting the kids directly involved so they can experience the satisfaction of helping others.” said JMPNS director Erin Hinton.

At school, the preschoolers selected paper ornaments from a small tree that were labeled with the items needed for the care packages. Throughout the week, they returned with the requested items and dropped them into an onsite WSKGB collection box. Fittingly, the care package assembly party was the last thing they did together before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Neighbors who wish to support West Sac Kids Give Back can bring donated items to collection bins at Lenise’s Cafe on December 14, or Streets of London on December 21.

James Marshall Parent Nursery School has continuously offered play-based early education programs to the preschoolers of West Sacramento since 1954.