Kings Partnership for Children

HOME GARDEN - Some jobs require helping others - providing a certain customer service, if you will. Often it's just that, a service. But for Maralyn Crawford, helping others means much more.
"I have such a great job. It's like getting paid to see a smile on people's faces," said the program director at Hand in Hand Family Resource Center.

Crawford, along with the rest of the employees at the family resource center, do whatever needs to be done in order to help people. Crawford said nobody is ever turned down.

HOME GARDEN - Central Valley General Hospital confirmed this week a partnership with a Home Garden nonprofit working to bringing a health clinic to one of the poorest neighborhoods in Kings County.

Hospital officials said they have signed a contract with Kings Partnership for Children, a group running Hand-In-Hand Family Resource Center, to set the foundation for the plan.

"We're growing here as a health care organization. As we grow, we must invest back in the community to improve health care," said Christine Pickering, spokeswoman for CVGH and two other Adventist Health hospitals in the area. "We're excited about working with Hand-In-Hand to improve access to health care."

A wide-eyed smile emanated from three-year-old Angelique Brazil's face Saturday as a stack of gifts landed on her small palms. Staggering to carry the boxes three times the size of her head, the little girl went on smiling.

"One, two, three ...," Angelique shows her happiness by counting them for her grandmother.

For many children living in Home Garden like Angelique, this could well be the only Christmas they would enjoy.

But the good news was, they were having a full Christmas.