By Brent E. Beltrán

This weekend the 5^th annual Love Thy Neighbor Clothing & Toy Drive takes place at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. For the past five years Ruben Torres and some of his close friends have organized this event to bring a little joy during the Christmas season to youths in San Diego and Tijuana.

South Bay native Ruben Torres continues to give back to the community he loves. He says, “God gives us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with. I’m honored to see the community come together to give and to be a blessing to the needy.”

Toys will be collected for the children of the YWCA as well as families of The Training Center in Spring Valley.

This year’s main event takes place on Sunday, December 14 from 12-8pm and is hosted by radio DJ Beto Perez of 95.7 KISS FM and features an art show curated by Ruben Torres and Wendy Wolf.

This and other events supporting Love Thy Neighbor take place Thursday through Sunday where clothing and new, unwrapped toys can be dropped off. The places include:

Dec 11: National City Chamber of Commerce Holiday Fiesta Mixer at 901 National City Blvd. from 4-7pm. $25 for nonmembers.

Dec 12: La Guadalupana Art Show at Border X Brewing at 2181 Logan Ave. in Barrio Logan from 6-11pm. An art exhibit reception dedicated to the Virgen de Guadalupe. Free.

Dec 12: Winter Wonderslam Pro Wrestling & Toy Drive at the Chula Vista Masonic Lodge at 732 3^rd Ave in Chula Vista. Tickets available at www.FansUnitedWrestling.com.

Dec 13: 5^th annual Love Thy Neighbor Clothing & Toy Drive at The Church at 2151 Logan Ave. in Barrio Logan from 2-9pm. A screening of Bad Santa will take place from 5-9pm. Free.

Dec 14: 5^th annual Love Thy Neighbor Clothing & Toy Drive from 12-8pm at the Centro Cultural de la Raza at 2004 Park Blvd. in Balboa Park. Featuring music and art.

For more info on Love Thy Neighbor visit www.lovethyneighbormovement.com and also check out this Desde la Logan column from two years ago.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Brent E. Beltrán

Brent E. Beltrán is a third generation pocho and second generation San Diegan that lives next door to Chicano Park in Barrio Logan. He's married to his warrior healer wife Olympia and is the proud father of a youngling name Sandino. Brent is a member of the SDFP Editorial Board, occasionally writes the column Desde la Logan and posts Looking Back at the Week every Sunday morning. He can be contacted at desdelalogan@gmail.com and through his Twitter account @DesdeLaLogan.

Latest posts by Brent E. Beltrán (see all)

• Looking Back at the Week: October 21-27 - October 28, 2018
• Looking Back at the Week: October 14-20 - October 21, 2018
• Looking Back at the Week: October 7-13 - October 14, 2018