The Soboba Tribal Council, Soboba Foundation, Soboba Casino Resort, Soboba Fire Department and Sponsorship Coordinator Andrew Vallejos were recognized by Superintendent David Pyle and the Board of Trustees for their generous donations and grants for the Soboba Gives Back! Thanksgiving Dinners, Soboba Gives Back! Christmas Toy Drive, Soboba Lip Sync Contest, Soboba Charity Golf Tournament, San Jacinto High School Athletics and the Hemet-San Jacinto Student of the Month program, just to name a few.

“We truly value our partnership and the opportunities it has provided for our students, staff and community by giving from the heart to those in need,” Pyle said. “We do this every January to recognize the efforts that Soboba has given to our district. If you’ve been in the Valley for any amount of time, you know the impact that Soboba has on all of our organizations, whether privately, personally, or as a school district. On behalf of our board of education, thank you so much.”

The perpetual plaques were presented “in recognition of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and Soboba Foundation for their generosity and commitment to SJUSD students and families through the support of” the turkey dinner distribution and toy donations.

Additionally, the Soboba Gives Back! events bring the community together to help distribute the fixings for a turkey dinner and to “Unstuff the Bus” with toys for district Christmas programs. Many of those who consistently volunteer their time, alongside those from Soboba, were also recognized for their contributions and received certificates of appreciation.

“From everything that we receive, we need to make sure we have enough hands to deliver out to our community,” Pyle said. “Your presence shows the commitment and impact you have on our students and on our staff so thank you for being here and thank you for being contributing members to our school system.”

Those attending were Sonia Ramos, Boxing for Christ; Mayor Valerie Vandever, representing the City of San Jacinto; members of the Four Directions club; Global CTI; Veronica Hawkes, Greater San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce; the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce; Hemet Lions Club; Cyndi Lemke, Legacy Bank; Lakshman Koka, San Jacinto Medical Clinic & Urgent Care; Riverside County Sheriff’s Captain James Burton, San Jacinto Police Lt. James Roy and other officers; San Jacinto Lions Club; San Jacinto Rotary; San Jacinto Education Foundation; San Jacinto Walmart Supercenter; Sonia Lamas with Lamas Housing Project; and Karena Zermeno, with the Hemet-San Jacinto Student of the Month program.

Soboba Tribal Council Chairman Isaiah Vivanco, who was in Sacramento on Tribal business and unable to attend the meeting, said, “Although we appreciate the recognition, that’s not why we do it. We are fortunate enough to be in a position to help others, especially during the holidays. We look forward to continuing our Soboba Gives Back! motto.”

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It takes a lot of planning and preparation to make this happen and Soboba Foundation members started working with the Walmart Supercenter in San Jacinto in September to secure enough toys to cover all the requests. With age groups of infants through teens, the team members at Walmart helped choose toys that would appeal to the children.

The first, and largest, event was on Dec. 9 when hundreds of volunteers arrived at the San Jacinto Unified School District offices to Unstuff the Soboba bus that was filled with 800 toys. Led to the warehouse parking lot by a Soboba Fire engine, the bus came to a halt at the end of two long lines of helpers who passed the toys along in bucket brigade fashion to sorters waiting inside the warehouse. It took about 20 minutes for all the toys to be stacked on designated tables.

There was lots of hot chocolate, Christmas themed cookies and a variety of tamales to keep everyone warm and content while they waited for the bus to arrive. It was a welcome opportunity for community members to connect outside of their traditional roles, coming together for a shared purpose.

Recipients of the delivered gifts were chosen by SJUSD school site family liaisons who provide a list of children’s ages and genders. The following day, toys were bagged up and tagged for each of the families to pick up while enjoying a visit to Santa’s Village, held at the same location on Saturday, Dec. 14.

“We try to make it cute and festive for our families,” said Sheila Blythe, School, Family, & Community Liaison at the district’s Family Engagement Center. Working with the center’s Family & Community Engagement Specialist Stefany Curiel, the duo assists the school site family liaisons in making sure all needs are met for the annual event.

SJUSD Superintendent David Pyle welcomed everyone when it was announced that the bus was a mere block away from the location.

“If you haven’t been to this event before, you are in for a treat,” he told the crowd. “This is our 15^th year that we’re doing the Unstuff the Bus. It was brought to us by Rose Salgado (from Soboba), who we miss dearly. Rose brought it to our district in 2009 and the tradition continues today.”

Pyle was appreciative and thankful to all who came which included members of the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Greater San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce, several first responders, City of San Jacinto staff and Councilmembers, as well as SJUSD staff, teachers, administrators, students and their families.

“This is always such a great night that comes on the heels of November’s turkey distribution by Soboba,” said Pyle, who joined the district in 2020. “These are just bigger events that add to all the other contributions the Tribe makes to us and our students. We couldn’t do what we do without our strong partnership with Soboba.”

Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas was at the start of one of the lines receiving gifts that were offloaded from the bus by members of the Soboba Fire Department and others. Also on hand was Foundation Secretary Andy Silvas, Tribal Council members Mike Bentiste, Daniel Valdez and Chairman Isaiah Vivanco. Maria Vivanco, who also was helping on behalf of the Friends of Valley-Wide Foundation, stood near Soboba Tribal member Rhianna Salgado who was joined by fellow Air Force JROTC members from San Jacinto High School.

“We are happy to be able to help and contribute to those that are in need, especially at this time of the year,” said Chairman Vivanco, who has served on the Soboba Tribal Council since 2015. “It’s great to see all these volunteers out here helping us unstuff the bus. It brings the community that much more together; it’s pretty cool.”

More than 3,000 toys were distributed to area churches, youth groups, nonprofits and other Tribal communities on Dec. 10 and 11. This was followed by another Unstuff the Bus event at Tahquitz High School on Dec. 12 for needy families whose children attend Hemet Unified schools.

After the bus arrived at the high school at 5:30 p.m., hundreds of volunteers made a two-line brigade that led from the parking lot to the cafeteria. Lots of colorful lights decorated an archway under which the helpers stood. Inflatables, hot cocoa, cookies and tamales greeted those who arrived about 60 minutes before the bus so they could mingle while holiday songs blared from the loudspeakers.

It took about 30 minutes for all 1,000 toys to make their way from the bus to the waiting hands inside the food kiosk room where items were sorted by gender and age group. Tahquitz High School office manager Joi Burden has been volunteering for the event since the program began.

“I love coming out to help every year; I always worked in different areas, but I like the sorting area the best,” said Burden, who has been at Tahquitz for the past 15 years and is in her fourth year as office manager. “We usually get a good turnout of students and other school staff to unstuff the bus. It’s a great event and we really appreciate Soboba for doing this.”

Miriam Ortiz, Coordinator, School, Family and Community Partnerships at HUSD, said about 25 school site liaisons work hard each year to be sure that the families that need it most are the ones who receive the generous toy donations from the Soboba Foundation. A holiday party for families to come to the school and pick up their gifts amid a festive atmosphere was planned for Dec. 18.

“We usually serve close to 400 to 500 families, depending on the size,” Ortiz said.

Members of the Tahquitz baseball team, ASB, school staff, Principal Andrew Holmes and HUSD Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Mary Wendland were among those who were on hand to assist with the toys. Ortiz said it is nice that Holmes opens his school for all community events.

Hemet Police Sgt. Tim McGinnis was joined by about five officers who were passing the toys along the long line. “Our school resource officers are in the mix; they have numerous events in December,” he said.

“I am so happy to be able to help out every year,” Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas said. “To know we are providing families with something to make their Christmas that much brighter is such a blessing. It also fills my heart to see the number of volunteers grow each year to get the buses unstuffed.”

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Families identified by school site parent liaisons received a voucher that enabled them to drive through the distribution area after checking in. When the program first began several years ago, families were treated to a 20-plus pound turkey. As inflation increased in recent years, Soboba Foundation board members decided it was important for families to be given more, and all the fixings were added.

Along with the large frozen turkey, each family also received a large package of cornbread stuffing, a huge can of turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, green beans, rolls and seasoned mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie.

The San Jacinto High School stadium parking lot was transformed into a two-lane pick-up station for 700 families who have students attending San Jacinto Unified School District schools. Items were sorted by dry and frozen and bagged by a steady stream of helping hands. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers from the Soboba Foundation, Soboba Tribal Council, Soboba Casino Resort, Soboba Tribal Environmental Department, the school district and the community, as well as Tribal members Bianca Machado and Alex Vallejo, vehicles were safely and swiftly loaded with all the essentials needed for a delicious Thanksgiving feast in just a couple of hours.

The day before this event, 300 meal fixings were distributed to local organizations that reach families that do not have children attending schools in either district. One nonprofit that received 125 of the 300 turkey meals was Valley Community Pantry.

SJUSD registered nurse Kim DeWald was helping out for the first time. “I made it a point to be out here this year,” she said. SJUSD Superintendent Dave Pyle was on turkey duty, taking them out of big boxes to place one on each rolling cart where bags of other items were added. He said the event gives district employees an opportunity to step away from what they do on a daily basis and make an impact on the community in a different way.

“It is so fulfilling to be part of this program every year that helps so many families in our community who wouldn’t otherwise have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner,” Pyle said. “It’s great to be working with Soboba again. This is always one of my favorite days of the year.”

Upbeat music played on loudspeakers as cars were ushered into the parking lot and a long line of representatives from each school, including mascots, stood along the route cheering and wishing them a happy holiday.

Anthony Segura has been teaching for 10 years, spending the last three at the state preschool program near the Edward Hyatt World Language Academy campus.

“I love to give back; it’s awesome to be the change,” he said. “It’s exciting seeing all the employees working together. It brings us all together and I think that meets our concept of ‘The San Jacinto Difference.’”

The following day, many of the same volunteers were at the parking lot of Hemet Unified School District’s administration offices on Acacia Ave. to serve families of students who attend HUSD schools. Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas stayed busy both days directing traffic at San Jacinto and helping to load cars at Hemet.

“We are truly blessed that we are able to do so much for the families in the neighboring communities that surround the Soboba Indian reservation,” Silvas said. “Hearing the heartfelt thank yous from the families as we load their cars, especially from the tiniest voices, gives us all a warm and joyous feeling.”

Soboba Tribal Council members Mike Bentiste and Daniel Valdez also serve as board members for the Foundation and always volunteer to help out and Vice Chairwoman Geneva Mojado also volunteered at both locations.

“Soboba gives back in many different ways throughout the year but during the holidays we get to see firsthand who benefits the most,” Mojado said. “It is very humbling to know that we can provide something that seems so simple but means so much to each individual family that is served by this program.”

HUSD’s Nutrition Services department assembled 1,000 boxes and bags a few days prior to the event. The dry goods were placed into a box with a “Happy Thanksgiving” sticker while the bags contained the frozen items.

Claudia Aguilar, who works at the district’s warehouse, brought a festive twist to the event by wearing a turkey costume as she greeted participants driving by. “We’re delivering love right now,” she said.

Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce Chair Patricia Scott enlisted the help of many members to join her to pitch in. She herself has been a member since 2014 and volunteers every year. “The board has always been supportive of this event and our partners are very responsive to coming out to serve the community every year,” she said. “I will take any opportunity to serve; I love it.”

CR&R Sustainability Coordinator Derik Fields, who heard about the volunteer opportunity from Scott, said, “I used to work in a grocery store so I’m kind of used to the busy holiday season.”

To keep the area clear of clutter, several helpers stayed busy breaking down the boxes as they were emptied of their contents and loading the cardboard into large recycling bins.

Refrigerated trucks were constantly being unloaded by forklifts with the pallets delivered to the nearby canopied distribution area for easy access. The process went smoothly, with everyone working together like a well-oiled machine to keep the rows of vehicles flowing.

Miriam Ortiz, Coordinator for School, Family and Community Partnerships at HUSD, said, “We are super grateful for the opportunity to be included in this program and to be able to share this with our families. We have such a great team of parent liaisons and a lot of cross collaboration to ensure that each individual family gets what they need.”

Marisol Inda is a parent liaison at West Valley and took on traffic duty to guide cars into the parking lot from the public streets. She has worked for Hemet Unified for 12 years, the last eight as a parent liaison. For the past 10 years she has also assisted as an interpreter throughout the district as she is fluent in English, Spanish and ASL. Inda said vouchers are given out based on referrals from staff, other students or the families themselves. The school was given 110 this year.

She has been helping with the Soboba Gives Back turkey distribution since it began. “I love helping others and being part of the community,” Inda said.

Ortiz said families were asked to complete an online survey following the event about what went well, and the overwhelming response was that it was “excellent.” Comments included, “Very quick and efficient. Everyone was very kind,” while another wrote, “It was so well organized. All the smiling faces were so wonderful to see. We are beyond blessed to be part of something so amazing.”

One family commented, “Thank you so much, my children are so excited. We had experienced multiple passings in the last few months.” Another one wrote, “They were very well-organized regarding traffic, and everything went very fast. And I am now going to be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner for my family. Thank you.”

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