A night of cookies with Santa

This past Saturday, the valley was invited to enjoy some cookies with Santa and dozens of families turned out for an evening filled with festive fun.

Hosted Saturday, Dec. 9, Cookies with Santa was brought to the community by the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, more commonly known as PDOP. This nonprofit focuses on children who have disabilities by creating a network of resources, activities and information for them, their parents and family members, and it is one that the public at large has given much support over the years.

In an effort to give back to the community that has helped sustain PDOP since its founding, the organization holds various events throughout the year, the most recent of which was Cookies with Santa.

Kicking off at 6 p.m. Saturday night, the event was held in partnership with Santa John’s Magical Experience. Attendees were given the chance to meet and take photos with Santa Claus himself while sipping on hot cocoa and munching on sweet treats. The PDOP train was also on site, offering patrons a ride around the venue at the backside of the NyE Communities Coalition campus and for a bit of extra fun, the mechanical “reindeer” ride was set up as well, with everything presented free of charge.

“The Cookies with Santa event was spectacular!” PDOP President David Boruchowitz told the Pahrump Valley Times afterward. “We had approximately 220 people come through the event.”

He said it’s not the first holiday happening the organization has put on but it was the first formal “Cookies with Santa” and it was undoubtedly a success.

“This Christmas event has become an annual gathering where PDOP gives back to the community,” Boruchowitz explained. He noted that there are many other fun activities in the works for next year, too, which also happens to mark PDOP’s 15-year anniversary.

“PDOP was founded in 2009 by two parents who have special needs children. It wasn’t long after their children were diagnosed with a disability that these two parents found out there was no local support for them here in Pahrump,” the nonprofit’s website details. “There were no groups for parents or family members. There was limited information in the community regarding disabilities.

“Both of these parents vowed to make a difference for their own families and for all the other families living in Pahrump that have children with a disability,” the website continues. “They established PDOP and it has become so much already and the hope and dream is for it to become so much more. The slogan ‘reaching for the stars and settling for nothing less’ has become the center of this organization and its goals and dreams for the community.”

For more information or to learn how to get involved visit PDOP.info

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com