Fifty children from the Sheriff’s Activities League (SAL) programs in Wasco, Bakersfield and Lamont enjoyed an afternoon winter wonderland, complete with ice skating, playing in the snow and a visit from Santa Claus.

The event took place on  Saturday, December 20, 2014, at the San Joaquin Community Hospital Ice Center of Bakersfield, located at 1325 Q Street, in downtown Bakersfield.

All of the holiday fun was presented as a gift in honor of Hall Ambulance Founder & President Harvey L. Hall, from his operations management and supervisory staff. Putting on an event in Mr. Hall’s name has become an annual tradition for the management group, who wanted to follow their boss’s lead of giving back to the community. What better way than to throw a holiday party in his name. Previous events included last year’s Harvey L. Hall’s Christmas Matinee at the Fox Theater, and Christmas parties at the Shafter Youth Center, the Boys & Girls Club of Bakersfield and the Lamont SAL program.

For this year’s event, they decided to host the party at the Ice Center of Bakersfield, because they felt many of the SAL kids have probably never had the opportunity to go play in the snow nor go ice skating. Each child received a goodie bag, lunch and rental skates.

The SAL program was selected this year because of the positive impact its volunteers are making in connecting law enforcement with kids, and the resulting self-esteem and self-confidence of the youth who participate.