Soup for Souls delivers holiday cheer

Soup for Souls hosted their annual toy distribution drive for the Christmas holiday, giving out gifts alongside some savory soup last Saturday, Dec. 21.

The tradition is in its sixth year of spreading the holiday spirit, with Edward Pavlicek at the helm of the soups alongside Jessica Ramirez and her family, who take charge of gift distribution every year.

Dozens upon dozens of cars lined up on Colorado St. filled with families in each vehicle, ready to put a smile on the faces of their kids whom for some, might be the only gift they receive that Christmas.

Families must sign their children up to receive a gift through a form they fill out, that allows the distribution to be a smooth and efficient process, with each family getting a box with a toy for each child, boy or girl, in their family.

78 boxes in total were collected and handed out to 90 families with 298 gifts given all together, ranging in gifts from monster trucks to princess dolls, puzzles and more.

The gifts were handed out by volunteers from the Ramirez family and within the Columbus community, with a cameo made by Santa Claus himself to put a smile on the faces of the children receiving gifts.

Alongside the boxes of gifts, 194 containers of chicken noodle soup, made by Pavlicek and his son Hunter Holland, were distributed to the families in line and to the elderly across the community after the conclusion of the toy distribution.

Jessica’s daughter, Natalia Ramirez, has been helping her mom out distributing gifts since the inception of the idea 6 years ago. Natalia says it’s a blessing to be able to do so, given the fact that Christmas is a big holiday within their family.

“It means a lot to us especially because we are very blessed,” said Natalia. “Christmas has always been a big holiday in our family, so for us to be able to help other families that can’t afford it, especially in hard times, I think it means a lot. Whenever we come here, it is a constant reminder that we are very blessed. We used to be those little kids that would have big smiles on our faces whenever our parents would give us those gifts. To be able to give back to these kids is amazing.”