Santa's Helper

November 28 2010 | News Article
Clarence Adams makes sure presents get delivered to kids who don't have a home for Santa to visit
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sheila Stroup for the Times Picayune
For Clarence Adams, Christmas will come early this year. "The party for the kids, that's my Christmas," he says. Adams is the assistant administrator at Ozanam Inn, and his favorite day of the year is the day he hosts a Christmas party for what he calls the "forgotten angels." They are homeless children living in shelters, in transitional W, in dire situations. "These are kids who truly have almost nothing," he says. The first time he saw them was the day he applied for a job at the homeless shelter on Camp Street 16 years ago. "I never dreamed that children were homeless until I came here," he says. "I guess I should have known, but I never thought about it." It's not something we really want to think about, but Adams sees it every day. And he loves making one special day when his forgotten angels get something they want, not just something they need. When they get something brand new that someone picked out for them. When they get a delicious hot meal and a few hours of fun. "I'm just so happy we're able to do something for these kids," he says. Adams came up with the idea in 1998, and by 2001, with some loyal volunteers and a lot of donations, it had grown to a party for 300 children and teenagers at Jazzland Theme Park. It kept growing until 2005, when Hurricane Katrina put it on hold. In 2008, he collected new toys and clothes, and he and Santa delivered them to area shelters, and in 2009, he put on his first post-K party. "We had 200 kids, and this year we're hoping for 250," he says. "I'd like to keep raising the number until we get back to where we were before Katrina." Last year, after I wrote about his plan to put on a Forgotten Angels party again, Adams got a great response. "We got a ton of support," he says. "I got checks from four different states." What really touched him was the checks for $5 or $10 that came with notes that said, "This is all I can afford, but I want to help." "That's what makes it so good," he says. "It's a community effort. A lot of people care about these kids." This year's party is going to be Dec. 11 at the Monsignor Gautreaux Center of St. Maria Goretti Church on Crowder Boulevard in Eastern New Orleans. Because he had to schedule it so early, Adams is already gathering new toys and clothes and looking for help from restaurants and food suppliers so the children can have a memorable hot meal, including dessert. "I'd also love to get any kind of characters to show up, like the sports mascots for our different teams," he says. Last year, after Tom Benson learned about Adams' party, the New Orleans Saints sent over something that made many young fans happy. "They gave me 50 Saints footballs. It was unbelievable," Adams says. He is asking for the gifts to be unwrapped, so they can be sorted and labeled before they go into gift bags. "This room sort of becomes Santa's workshop," he says, looking around his office and imagining it full of toys. Adams remembers one little girl at last year's party. "She wore a size 3 shoe, and she came to the party wearing size 6 shoes," he says. "I said, 'I need somebody to go out and buy a pair of shoes.'" One of the volunteers was gone in an instant, and at the end of the party the little girl left with a new toy and shiny new shoes that fit just right. "It breaks my heart to think there are so many kids out there who just don't have anything," Adams says. Adams, 54, left a better paying job in the hotel industry to work at Ozanam Inn, and he has never had a single regret. "Here, I get paid in different ways," he says. "If I hadn't taken this job, I wouldn't have met the clients and the volunteers, and I would not have been able to do this for the kids." When I ask him what the best thing about the party is, he laughs. "Really and truly?" he says. "It's the way it makes me feel."