x
Breaking News
More () »

Family that came from nothing now gives back

The Cardenas family is helping to make the holidays bright for kids from low-income neighborhoods in Brighton.

Christmas came early for kids in several low-income neighborhoods in Brighton.

The Cardenas Ministries partnered up with different organizations and collected toys. Saturday, they delivered them with Santa, the Grinch and the Brighton Fire Department.

It started with a firetruck sounding the siren to get kids' attention. Once everyone made it out, kids would get a minute with Santa and a gift of their choice.

The Cardenas family went into these neighborhoods on purpose.

“When I was about 12 or 13 years old,” remembered Jon Cardenas, “each one of us got a box.”

Excited about opening their Christmas gifts, Jon and his four sisters opened the boxes, “I got a thing of shampoo, a thing of deodorant and a bar of soap.”

“At that time, as a kid, I was kind of disappointed but now that I’m grown that’s the greatest gift I can remember,” he said, “my mom did what she could to support us.”

Coming from nothing, their mom Gloria, taught them a deep level of appreciation and a genuine spirit of giving back.

“I think the hard part was when you went to school and they’d say, ‘what’d you get for Christmas’ and sometimes we had to lie,” said Valerie Cardenas Soto, “now these kids don’t have to lie. They can actually say they got something.”

Gloria Cardenas was raising five kids while going to grad school.

“What I could not give my kids as children,” said Gloria, “I want to give to other kids now that I’m able to afford it.”

Gloria worked for the federal government as a contract specialist. She’s now retired and dedicates her time to giving back.

The family has been doing charity work for about 30 years now.

Before You Leave, Check This Out