The Elves Program was established in 2002 as a program of Riverside County Bar Association (“RCBA”) to assist needy families in Riverside County. Many communities within the county, including Corona, Hemet, Lake Elsinore, Mead Valley, Moreno Valley, Perris, Riverside, and San Jacinto. We obtain information about these needy families from various community resources, including the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Child Abuse Prevention Center, and others.
In 2015, the program became one of the four core programs of the Riverside County Bar Foundation, Inc. (“Foundation”), a 501(c)(3) corporation.
Donations are collected throughout the year, with the majority of donations coming in October, November and December.
Recognizing that members of RCBA have a variety of time, talents, and interests, we have four Elf participation opportunities: Shopping Elves, Wrapping Elves, Delivery Elves, and Money Elves.
Shopping Elves: On a specified day in early December, Shopping Elves meet at the Big K-Mart on Alessandro Blvd in Orangecrest, where each Elf will be provided a Christmas “Wish List” from the children of the families we adopt. The Shopping Elf will stroll through the store and fill his or her basket with as many gifts as possible within the pre-designated dollar amount the Elf has been assigned to spend. While some of the requests of the past have been very specific, surprisingly, many of the kids indicated (in their own hand) that they wanted gifts from general categories such as clothes, educational toys, and music. It is the Elf’s job to satisfy these wishes for the adopted family within a set budget. To be a Shopping Elf, one should have a good working knowledge of kids and what kinds of gifts and clothing sizes and styles are age-appropriate. Some of our previous Shopping Elves brought their families along. Their children not only learned the joy of giving to the less fortunate, they were of great assistance in helping determine what would be “cool” gifts.
Wrapping Elves: The Wrapping Elves will meet at the RCBA’s boardroom on designated evenings and wrap all the gifts after the Shopping Elves have finished their job. This is usually scheduled for two or three early evenings, right after work, approximately one week after the Shopping Elves have finished shopping. Wrapping and organizational skills are welcome, since Wrapping Elves must ensure that all the gifts are tagged, bagged and assembled by family for easy pickup and distribution by the Delivery Elves. This, too, has evolved into a family affair for some of our Elves, with real camaraderie, so the Wrapping Elves’ motto has become, “The more the merrier!”
Delivery Elves: Depending on the total number of families the Foundation is able to support financially, teams of two to four Delivery Elves will personally deliver the wrapped gifts to our adopted families. The deliveries are made over the course of a few days during the week before Christmas. To accommodate the Elves’ schedules, they may be assigned to deliver to more than one family in your personal sleigh. Although potentially the most time-consuming task, delivering gifts to the families is by far one of the most rewarding, because the Delivery Elf gets the opportunity to meet the adopted families.
Money Elves: These Elves really make things happen! Because of the Money Elves, we are able to shop, wrap and deliver to the many families we are hoping to assist. Obviously, the more money raised, the larger the number of families we can assist, and the greater the number of listed items we can check off.
Donations to the Foundation are accepted at any time. Checks should be made payable to Riverside County Bar Foundation, Inc. and mailed to the following address:
Riverside County Bar Foundation, Inc.
4129 Main Street, Suite #100
Riverside, CA 92501
If you have any questions about Riverside County Bar Foundation, Inc., please contact us via email at: foundation@riversidecountybar.com
