On Thursday morning, the Dodgers hosted their 13th annual Children’s Holiday Party at Dodger Stadium for 300 students from eight nearby elementary schools. Included were kids from: Allesandro Elementary School, Ann Street Elementary School, Castelar Elementary School, Clifford Math and Technology Magnet Elementary School, Dorris Place Elementary School, Elysian Heights Elementary School, Logan Span Elementary School and Solano Avenue Elementary School.

“This is our 13th year and it’s such an honor for us to host these kids,” said Naomi Rodriguez, Dodgers vice president of external affairs and community relations. “Many of these kids come from underserved communities, most of them do, They are on reduced lunch. What that means is that they live below the poverty line. Frankly, for the most part, these kids wouldn’t have this celebration, wouldn’t have this holiday celebration.

“What we want is to bring them to the stadium and give that to them and say ‘look, we’re going to give you the best holiday and Christmas celebration you can imagine,'” Rodriguez added. “Not only do they come to the best stadium in the world, but then they meet Santa, they play dodge ball with Joc Pederson, make an art craft with Austin Barnes and just have a great time. They walk away with a gift … with more than one gift. Each child gets three gifts and one is a book, which is great. They have an awesome lunch, ice cream bar – remember when you were a kid? What kid, when they see an ice cream bar doesn’t love it?

“For the Dodgers, we’re part of the cultural fabric in Los Angeles. This is our community, we feel very proud of our community. Some of these kids live five minutes from here, so not only do we want them to feel welcome, but this is their home too. We care about them, they’re worthy. They can do whatever they want and that’s the message we’re giving them,” Rodriguez concluded.

Aside from Santa and the gifts the kids received, the highlight of the morning was the snow and snow dish run brought into the ballpark courtesy of Arctic Glacier Ice.

“A lot of these kids have never seen snow before,” said former Dodgers pitcher and current Dodgers alumni member Dennis Powell.

Many of the kids at Thursday’s Children’s holiday party at Dodger Stadium had never seen snow before.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Fellow Dodgers alumnus Billy Ashley echoed his former teammate.

“It’s always fun interacting with the kids, especially at this time of year,” said the man nicknamed ‘Light Tower Power’ during his playing days. “It’s a joy to bring happiness and all this stuff to the kids. Kids that have never seen snow before get a chance to go down our ice hill. It’s fun, you love to see the smiles on their faces. The Dodgers do it up right.”

So, too, did former Dodgers outfielder Matt Luke, also a member of the Dodgers alumni staff.

“I’ve been participating in this for several years and it’s always awesome just to see the kids come out,” said Luke. “They’re excited, they’re getting gifts, the Dodgers are giving back to the community and it’s a great day for all these kids. It’s a blessing to see the smile on their face.”

Although the importance of having these former Dodgers on-hand cannot be overemphasized, none of the kids at the annual event were even born when they played. Such is not the case with guests of honor Joc Pederson and Austin Barnes, who showed up and played with the 300 youngsters.

“It kind of brings you back to your childhood for sure, playing dodge ball, sled races, going to the snow,” Barnes said. “These kids are lucky, this is a great event the Dodgers Foundation is putting on. We’re lucky to hang out with the guys. It kind of brings you back to your childhood, for sure. It’s a good time, we’re happy to be part of it.”

Kids always love a friendly game of dodge ball … even big kids like Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

“There’s nothing like dodge ball and sled rides, that’s as fun as it gets” said Pederson. “As an athlete, you can’t really ski or snowboard, so I don’t really get out to the snow very often. So this is as close as I get and it’s awesome.”

Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson wasn’t about to miss out on a couple runs down the snow dish path.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Among the 300 kids on hand, 30 were chosen by their respective principals to receive brand new bicycles, courtesy of Pure Fix Cycles.

“The principal actually select the kids because obviously in these schools there’s more kids that didn’t come,” Rodriguez said. “They reach some sort of [achievement] – no tardies, no absences, good grades – there’s something that they accomplish throughout the year where their principal selected them to be here today. From them, the principals selects who receives the bicycles.”

Dodgers vice president of external affairs and community relations Naomi Rodriguez and Dodgers alumni members Dennis Powell, Billy Ashley and Matt Luke prepare to hand out presents to the 300 kids on hand at Thursday’s Children’s holiday party. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It’s safe to say that every kid at Thursday’s Children’s Holiday Party left with a huge smile on their face and a holiday memory they will never forget.

The 30 best-of-the-best, as selected by their respective school principals, received brand new bicycles courtesy of the Dodgers and Pure Fix Bicycles. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

…not to mention some pretty cool Christmas presents.