These smiling kids were ‘the ultimate prize’ at a Paterson party for families impacted by crime

PATERSON — On the surface, the children’s Christmas party Friday evening at the Center City Mall seemed like a typical holiday celebration, with red-and-green decorations, gift-wrapped presents and Santa Claus.

But there was something deeper about the event, an extraordinary gathering of more than 150 youngsters and adults whose troubled lives represent a tribute to resilience and hope.

Some were victims of violence. Others were children whose parents have spent time in prison, or were parents who themselves have been jailed. Many of theirs are stories of second chances and new beginnings.

Start with the man in the Santa outfit, Jason Davis, who once spent four years as a fugitive from the law, fearful he would spend the rest of his life in jail if he ever got caught. Among Davis’ helpers was Kashif Eleby, who was released from Northern State Prison in March after spending 14 years behind bars.

Myron Lee sat at one table with his three grandchildren, ages 5 through 8. Lee was in federal prison for his grandkids’ entire lives and was looking forward to sharing the holidays with them for the first time.

At another table was Franciso Avendano with his three youngest sons. He had spent 44 months in prison and missed the last three Christmases with his boys.

“During the holidays, that’s the hardest part, not being with the little ones,” said Avendano. “It was terrible. They would say, ‘When will you be with us again?’”

This was the ninth year that Paterson activist Teddy Martinez and his wife, Barbara, organized an “Angel Tree” party, creating a program that works to ensure children whose parents are incarcerated still get holiday gifts from them. The goal, organizers said, is make sure the children know their parents still love them even though they can’t be with them for the holidays.

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Inmates sign up for the program at their correctional facilities and Martinez starts compiling a list of personalized gifts long before the party.

Barbara Martinez said two churches — Grace Gospel in Paterson and Fountain Baptist in Summit — provided donations to augment the $10,000 budget generated by the local Angel Tree group, Project Reconnect.

Teddy Martinez’s experience with Angel Tree goes back long before he started running the annual party in Paterson. Martinez said he had depended on the program to get gifts for his own children during the 18 years he spent incarcerated at five different prisons.

The local Angel Tree party has evolved and now also includes children and families who have been victims of gun violence, in cooperation with the Paterson Healing Collective, another group that Martinez works with.

As a result, among those at Friday’s party were Darryl Champion’s two teenage daughters, who were hit by stray bullets in December 2020 while they were walking their dog a block from their Paterson home. Champion sat smiling at the party, talking about the things his daughters have achieved after they got shot, including volunteering at the Healing Collective.

“They’ve turned their trauma into a triumph,” he said.

Sitting at the same table as the Champion sisters was a young boy, his aunt and his grandmother, Adrian Smith. The boy’s father — Smith’s son — had been fatally shot in Paterson in June. Smith said events like the Angel Tree party are important for her grieving grandson.

“He’s starting to struggle with the loss of his Dad,” the grandmother said. “I try to get him out whenever I can, to cheer him up a little and bring him some hope.”

Martinez said this year’s Angel Tree party had an unusually high number of parents attending who had been locked up during the holidays last year.

“It’s such a sad feeling when you can’t be with your family,” said Lee, whose children got Angel Tree gifts while he was in prison. “This program reaches out for you.”

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Lee said his children were surprised to get presents from him while he was incarcerated.

“They wanted to know, ‘How did you do that?’” he said.

Eleby, one the helpers at the party, said it has been more than 14 years since he saw children open Christmas gifts. He is 33 and this will be the first time he was free for the holidays since he was a teenager.

“This is about giving back to the community and making sure no kids get left out while their parents are incarcerated,” Eleby said. “When a kid opens the gift, you see that big smile on their face. That’s the ultimate prize at the end of the day.”

Davis, who was playing Santa at the party, said he felt “worthless” the one Christmas he was in jail, away from his children. But Davis said it could have been worse. He said he was facing 56 years under the original charges against him. But almost all of them ended up being dropped, he said.

Davis said he spent four years on the run before he ended up being arrested. During that time, he said, he got involved in community work, cleaning up parks and trying to keep drug dealers out of them.

“I felt like I had to atone,” he said.

Davis now works as a crisis intervention specialist at the Healing Collective. This was his second year as Santa Claus at the Paterson Angel Tree party.

“It was so much fun last year, I asked to be Santa again,” he said. “The way the kids light up — I’ve never seen anything like that. It just makes my whole season.”

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ 2022 Angel Tree Christmas party leads to smiles