Pacheco's Bay Alarm donates bikes to children for holiday season

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ByAmy Hollyfield KGO logo
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Pacheco's Bay Alarm donates bikes to children for holiday season
Hundreds of children are going to get brand new toys this holiday season thanks to a woman with a generous heart and the help of Bay Alarm in Pacheco.

PACHECO, Calif. (KGO) -- At least 200 kids are going to get brand new toys this holiday season thanks to a woman with a generous heart.

On Wednesday, U.S. Marines loaded up toys for their Toys for Tots program in the parking lot of Bay Alarm in Pacheco. They also handed out bikes and helmets.

You may think a 5-year-old girl who was there was the happiest person, but think again. "When I was a child I didn't have much, sorry and I always thought if I ever come to a place where I can give back I'm going to do it," Mary Smith said.

Smith has raised money for toys and bikes for kids at Christmas time for the last 28 years. She usually just watches the U.S. Marines haul toys away for their Toys for Tots program to distribute them to families in need, but this year they brought the families to her. "This is my first year ever that I get to see children pick up the toys and you can see they are very excited, eager," she said.

Smith cooks lunch for her co-workers at Bay Alarm every month. She serves them in exchange for a donation and then her boss matches whatever she has raised. "This is my biggest year ever in that last year I had 73 bikes, this year I have 83," Smith said.

But Smith isn't the only one with a generous heart in this story. Jerome Yaeger is a foster parent who recently adopted three of his foster kids all under the age of five. "We just kind of fell in love with them and made them part of our family," he said.

Smith helped Yaeger give those kids a Christmas on Wednesday. "This helps tremendously because we can designate money to other things like bills and food," he said.

"This bike is the best bike ever," one girl said.

Smith said she will be back next year because the look on the children's faces make it all worth it. "Some kids have absolutely nothing and this is the best Christmas anyone could possibly have to see them get this," she said.