All over the Teche Area, for that matter all over the country and the world, people are experiencing the winter season’s greatest joy by giving gifts to others, not out of obligation, or duress, but gifts from the heart. More groups and strangers than can be covered in one story are represented today by three wise and generous groups who have been busy this week.

Rotary Club of New Iberia

Everyone knows Santa Claus has a lot of helpers each year and the local group of volunteers from Rotary International met at the home of Ricky and Leona Huval Monday night to wrap presents and prepare Santa packages for more than 50 children in the Iberia Parish foster care system. Members, who regularly meet for lunch each Wednesday at the Ramada Inn on LA 14, collected money to purchase the gifts children had told case workers they wanted Santa to bring them this year. The partnership with the North Pole has been going on for more than 18 years, but attendees at the packing party couldn’t say the year they began.

This year they bought less than in years past.

“Every year, almost 100 percent, we get the exact present the children asked Santa for, and of course, Santa hands the present to the child,” said Chris Whipple, chairman of this year’s gifting program. “Good and bad news, this year is our smallest year. Bad because we’re not giving out as many presents this year. Good because there are fewer kids — which means they are not in foster care, they are home with their permanent families. This is the most exciting year because we have more kids than ever with permanent homes. It’s a wonderful story.”

The person that initiated the Rotary program was not known but on the biggest year in remembrance, they distributed 35 bicycles and another 125 or more presents. Ricky Huval said for his household, the evening of uncrating toys, wrapping and serving the Rotary elves dinner afterwards was the beginning of their Christmas season. Later in the week the volunteers hosted a pizza party for the children complete with carols, arts and craft activities, storytelling and, of course, an appearance by Santa.

Wayne Clay was this year’s supervisor, along with Whipple and the Huvals. Elf committee members included Joanie and Jack Kraker, René Huval, Shelly Broussard, Stephanie Moore and Mary Castille. Will Grubbs was a big help with crafts at the party, as well as other duties.

Held at Highland Baptist Church, the Rev. David Denton read the Christmas story from the Bible and explained why the birth of Jesus was so significant. Then the children heard the fictional retelling of Matthew and Luke’s gospel story from the viewpoint of Donkey Otie. Each child took home a copy of “Donkey Otie’s Forever Birthday Story” for their own library.

Children of All Ages

No one is ever too old or too young to hear the Christmas story. The next stop this week for spreading Christmas cheer was in an unexpected place. A delegation of pastors from Iberia Parish and volunteers from several Acadiana Churches were led by the Rev. Wilford Johnson to Louisiana State Penitentiary. Known as Angola, and nicknamed the “Alcatraz of the South,” “The Angola Plantation” and “The Farm,” the maximum-security prison farm is the only fully maximum security institution in the state housing 6,300 adult males, more than 85 percent violent offenders. More than half of the inmates are serving life sentences. Angola also is home to the Louisiana’s male death row inmates.

A more indepth story about the visit will appear Dec. 27 on the Faith page of The Daily Iberian, however to say this was an unusual stop for a children’s book storyteller is an understatement. The book, “Donkey Otie’s Forever Birthday Story,” is dedicated to a family whose father of three children would spend one last Christmas together. Ages 11, 13 and 15, the family had never shared the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. In his memory, the book has been given as baby shower gifts, read and given to teenagers in orphanages, in public readings and this week to men who have been set free while in prison.

Each inmate in the faith programs at Angola received a copy of the children’s story they could keep as a reminder of the greatest Christmas gift of all, Jesus, or to pass along to their children and families at home. The purchase by Rotary Club of “Donkey Otie’s Forever Birthday Story” for the foster children helped fund the gift of books to the prisoners at Angola.

One More Stop

Santa makes his rounds at Christmas and this year, so did Donkey Otie. Saturday morning Solomon House held its annual Christmas party for client-families at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. Volunteers that meet the needs of Iberia Parish residents every week through its food pantry and outreach, celebrated together in Hopkins Hall on Main Street.

Deck the halls was the theme of the home-like fellowship hall with packages waiting under the tree, a gift wrapping station for children to use after picking a gift for their parent and the tables were set for food later, after activities. Outside on the picnic benches of EDS, a glitter station was ready for handmade ornaments to take home for the family tree, and Donkey Otie waited in the parlor for three separate groups of the most well behaved children the storyteller has seen all year.

Secret gift buying was possible thanks to the parent engagement time upstairs. They, too, received gifts including financial help with their household utilities. Fifteen parents and 35 children filled the halls moving orderly from one station to the next in rotating small groups. A nursery was provided for the smallest children, entertained or rocked by the woman who has managed on the nursery task for more than 28 years — and helped raise some of the member parents.

Holiday lights throughout the Teche Area, from Franklin to St. Martinville, are a reflection in the Bayou Teche reminding residents and visitors alike that the best part of Christmas is sharing joy with family, friends and the less fortunate. As today’s final 2 p.m. performance at the Essanee Theater by the Iberia Performing Arts League makes note, “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.”

Gifts given from the heart are time well spent sharing and meeting the needs of one another — whether it is a child receiving a toy, or an unexpected visit to a homebound senior that might need someone to talk with, Christmas is a time for giving. The greatest gifts are from the heart.