This December, people from more than a dozen regional center areas traveled to take part in the annual Capitol Tree Lighting. We are grateful to everyone who made the time to be there and make this event another success!
At the center of this year’s celebration were Rebecca and Jude Kessler. The five-year-old twins receive services through the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center. Rebecca and Jude joined Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom to help light the Capitol’s trees.
For the Kessler family, the moment carried added meaning. Rebecca, Jude and their parents, Sandy and Kyle, lost their home and belongings in the Eaton Fire last January. Since then, they have leaned on community and regional center support as they work to rebuild. Their participation served as a reminder of the families across the Los Angeles area still recovering from the wildfires. Regional centers and service providers remain committed to working alongside these families as rebuilding continues.
“The year started with a bang with the fires and since then it’s been quite chaotic,” said Kyle Kessler. Sandy Kessler added: “It feels really healing to have this honor, after this really, really difficult year.”
Rebecca and Jude were chosen to represent over 480,000 Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive services and support through the state’s regional center system. This tradition started in 1983. Since then, the Capitol tree has also featured handmade ornaments created by people supported by regional centers across California.
This year, twenty-one additional six-foot trees also lined the Capitol tree, one for each regional center. Representatives from more than a dozen regional centers came to Sacramento to decorate their trees in person, using ornaments created in their communities.
“I have some ornaments I 3D printed for the tree. It’s a simple gift box pattern,” said Jacob Garcia, who is in the Self-Determination Program through the Westside Regional Center in the Los Angeles County area. “I just 3D modeled it and then printed it.”
“Standing beneath the lights of the Capitol, it’s not just a beautiful moment, but a beautiful reminder of the community work that it takes to uplift and advocate for the individuals that we serve,” said Ana Peña, assistant director of the Early Start Program at Kern Regional Center.
In addition to the trees, the evening featured for the first time a holiday food drive hosted by California Volunteers (GO-Serve) to benefit Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. Families enjoyed music, a holiday train, and a cookie station as they counted down to the lighting of the tree.
From the Kessler twins lighting the tree to the people who crafted the ornaments and the regional center friends who traveled to attend, the evening showed what our community looks like when we celebrate and work together.
Check out some of the ornaments that our community has crafted this year:
