Special Students All Aglow at Party Given by Senior Citizens

WEST HILLS — Her face glowing and accented with a big smile, Evelyn Arenales caressed the fluffy white teddy bear that Santa Claus gave her Tuesday at a party in Fallbrook Mall.

Arenales, a 19-year-old student at Diane Leichman School for the developmentally disabled in Reseda, clearly cherished her modest gift and refused to part with it for the duration of the festivities.

“I’m naming her Charlotte, after my teacher,” Arenales said. “I can’t wait to put her in my room.”

Arenales was one of 65 students from Leichman, a Los Angeles Unified School District campus, who attended the morning Christmas party. It was sponsored by a group of 11 area senior citizens that calls itself the Hole in the Wall Gang.

The group has made it an annual tradition for almost a decade with food, drinks and gifts for the mentally challenged students, whose ages range from 18 to 22.

Each year Santa Claus shows up with a large bag of gifts and poses for pictures with each student. The seniors group pays for the entire event--a gesture school officials say is priceless.

“The love they have given the kids has been overwhelming,” said longtime Leichman teacher Rose Foglesong. “The seniors have given them inspiration, confidence and helped them learn how to deal with an older population.”

Members of the Hole in the Wall Gang also attend many of Leichman’s activities throughout the year and participate in a weekly bowling and baseball league with students.

The relationship began when Foglesong took her class in the community-based instruction program to Fallbrook Mall nearly 10 years ago.

In community-based instruction, Leichman’s advanced students are taught how to function in society by going into the community and learning tasks such as shopping, using money and riding the bus.

“I remember that day. The old-timers were in the food court having coffee and they began interacting with the kids,” Foglesong said. “Most people don’t do that, so the kids just loved it. They were thrilled.”

Members of the seniors group say they get a lot out of the relationship, too.

Many were just “hanging out, not doing much before getting involved with the kids,” said Hank Hansen, 83. He helped organize Tuesday’s party and clearly enjoyed mingling with teachers and students.

Dressed in red and sporting a fuzzy Santa Claus hat, he watched the students clap and scream when they spotted Santa in a nearby balcony of the mall’s food court.

The students had been eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival and were excited to see him waving from afar.

“You think that doesn’t make your heart go?” Hansen said, pointing to the enthusiastic group. “No one really paid attention to these kids before.”