Christmas parade returns to Eagle Valley Children’s Home

Santa Claus waved long and high at the residents of Eagle Valley Children’s Home, with red and blue lights bringing out some of their best smiles for an early Christmas as fire trucks and ambulances circled the roundabout Sunday night.

It didn’t matter the temperature was about 38 degrees at 5:30 p.m. The home’s residents were tucked in jackets, blankets and Santa hats, all excited to welcome Carson City’s firefighters, Sheriff Ken Furlong and his deputies, Gardnerville’s Big Daddy’s Bikes and Brews owners Keith and Monica Hart and EVHC staff and parents.

The motorcade, which was cancelled last year due to COVID-19, is one of the most special nights of the year for the home’s residents.

“It’s been so much fun,” Furlong said. “We had to alter a little bit during COVID, but this parade, it’s been so inspirational for everybody. It gives us a chance to really be up there with the kids who love public safety people everywhere. This whole put-together – everybody jumps on board and wants to be here. It’s not like you have to have a detail. Everybody wants to be here.”

Staging takes place at the North Carson Street Arco gas station for volunteers driving the cars in the Eagle Valley Children’s Home motorcade Sunday. Santa Claus, fourth from left, gathers with Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong, far left, and his deputies on the right, Carson City resident and mother Jeannie Sena, center. (Jessica Garcia photo) 

EVCH, a private, nonprofit organization that provides a residential option and respite services for qualified families who have children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, continues serving 18 clients in its home program and between 20 to 30 with its respite services, said Jessica Haglund, recreational supervisor.

Haglund said families have been coming in and enjoying their normal daily activities with their children without the burden of the restrictions.

Jeannie Sena, 68, mother to client Eric Tedeschi, planned the first event in December 2020 with pandemic restrictions in place. Families were limited from physically attending EVCH to see their children, then recently a mask mandate for staff members was in place for protection, according to Haglund, although it remains optional now. Patients never have been required to wear masks.

“According to (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) areas, staff might still have to wear masks,” she said. “Every week, we have to check online on the website, and so far we’ve gone a month without having to wear them. As long as the community transmission rate remains low, we don’t have to wear them.”

But last year, Sena said with the motorcade’s cancellation due to illness, she drove by in her own vehicle and honked her horn and waved for her son and his friends. She sought to keep the holiday event going as a means of remaining close to him and his friends at Christmastime.

Tedeschi, 38, who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, or the deletion of the fourth chromosome, experienced delayed growth, low muscle tone and brain abnormalities. He has been living well at EVCH, Sena said, and she continues to visit him as often as she can.

After the parade, Santa entered the building to greet the clients and provide presents. Santa said he recalled a special moment from the 2020 event.

“What is the golden rule of Christmas? ‘Tis better to give than receive,” he said. “‘Tis better to think of others before yourself. It’s absolutely what all Santas all over the world should do. They should give of their heart. … The last time we did this, there was one woman named Mary, when I presented her teddy bear, she reached out and touched my hand, and it was just like a million words that were said in that moment. It was just amazing.”

Sena met with her son, who sat separately in a television room with a movie on, playing a keyboard.

Carson City resident Jeannie Sena receives a hug from her son, Eric Tedeschi, 38, a resident of the Eagle Valley Children’s Home. (Jessica Garcia photo)

 

“Eric, Mama loves you,” she said, sitting beside him and hugging him.

Sena, previously diagnosed with breast cancer, told the Appeal this past February she learned she also had cancer on her forehead. She said she always has felt “blessed” through the pandemic having her son in the home. He has experienced COVID three times.

“It’s such a joy to see our community be so supportive of Eagle Valley Children’s Home,” Sena said. “Since the coronavirus, it had been very challenging for me to visit or be with my son.  A few months ago, the restrictions were lifted and I was finally able to be inside the facility and bring my son home for a visit.

“My son did survive the coronavirus several times and now to experience this Christmas holiday season, I am so appreciative and blessed,” she said. “Thank you to all the caregivers for taking such great care of my son and all of his friends at EVCH.”

Sena also thanked local businesses such as Big Daddy’s and Home Depot for their donations to support families in need at EVCH, which continues in its 76th year of operation.

“It definitely feels like Christmas,” Keith Hart said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s about community, and it doesn’t get any better and that it’s for a special cause and nothing beats it. What it means to me is amazing, and to get to be among all these guys, it definitely feels like Christmas again.”