It was a decade ago that Sydnee Navarro kicked off the Giving Tree Project.

“I didn’t know back then that it would go 10 years,” she said at Friday’s Christmas gift giveaway to 21 families and 73 children at the HOPE Family Shelter’s Raymus House.

Cecily Ballungay remembered that moment in 2013.

“Sydnee was 10 years old when she contacted me,” said Ballungay, who was in her first year as CEO of HOPE Ministries, Inc.

Navarro’s inspiration on making a difference during the holidays was based on a newspaper story on local homelessness.

Her Giving Tree Project later became her Community Advocacy Project during her time with Manteca Youth Focus – Sydnee Navarro was Miss Manteca 2020.

For a time, her brother, Connor Navarro, took over holiday efforts when Sydnee departed for college. Both siblings are currently attending the University of the Pacific – Syndee is a junior studying Sociology with an emphasis in pre-law while Connor, a freshman, is in Media X with an interest in film production.

“This year’s (Giving Tree Project) has been a family effort,” according to Syndee and Connor, who praised their parents, Jane and Jae Navarro, for spearheading the holiday endeavor.

With three days before Christmas, the family and others helped with delivering of the multiple gift bags containing wish-list items to the Raymus House.

“We are so gracious to the Navarro family,” said Ballungay. “They go out of their way to make this day a priority every year.”

HOPE Ministries is a faith-based organization dedicated to providing shelter and services to homeless and low-income families – the hope here is to cultivate self-respect, self-reliance, and spiritual direction.

The Raymus House, in 1993, started as a nursing home, and was a donation by the Antone and Marie Raymus Foundation for the purpose of serving the homeless women and children.