He might be “a mean one,” as the song says, but the Grinch was on his best behavior this week, joining Cindy Lou Who, Santa Claus and volunteers with the local nonprofit Ruby’s Kids in spreading holiday cheer to the families of patients at St. Tammany Cancer Center – A Campus of Ochsner Medical Center.
The Covington center’s annual toy distribution and holiday party for qualifying patients was held Wednesday, and despite the day’s “Merry Grinch-mas” theme – and gloomy skies to go with it – everything inside was shiny and bright, from the decorations to the smiles on guests’ faces.
“I just like to see people enjoy themselves,” said Sal D’Antoni Jr., who founded Ruby’s Kids nearly two decades ago. The group has been brightening the holidays of patients at St. Tammany Cancer Center “for the past four or five years,” he said.
As he was speaking, D’Antoni was sitting in a room filled with wrapped presents, all purchased with donations and picked out by Ruby’s Kids volunteer Nikki Brown, working from wish lists provided by cancer center staff.
Each child also received a Ruby’s Kids T-shirt and a stocking filled with goodies.
In all, 26 local families – with 50 children in total – were on the receiving end of the group’s generosity this year.
In addition to the gift-giving, the day included photos with Santa and a variety of holiday-themed activities, including cookie decorating, ornament decorating, a “reindeer food”-making station, and a variety of reindeer games such as holiday cornhole, candy cane limbo and more.
The 2024 Ruby’s Kids holiday event was organized by St. Tammany Hospital Foundation, with key contributions from Subway, Starbucks coffee and Evamore water, all of which donated items to feed the day’s volunteers. That included volunteers from St. Scholastica Academy, Heritage Bank, cancer center staff as well as Ruby’s Kids.
Scroll down to see photos from Wednesday’s event – and happy holidays!