By Sara Ballenger

Los Altos Brownie Troop 1044 is already in the giving spirit this holiday season.

The troop, based at Almond School, donated $300 in food certificates and gifts to two families for the Christmas holiday.

“Our cookie sales were super. We made several hundred dollars and the girls wanted to do something really special,” said Brownie parent Deborah Pasturel. “Over the summer the girls voted to adopt a family at Christmastime.”

The girls purchased items like perfume, kitchen utensils, action figures and other toys, based on the wish lists provided by Friends Outside, a United Way program.

Friends Outside is an organization, based in San Jose, which provides human services to people in federal or state custody and their families.

“It’s easy for the general public to just dismiss this group of the population,” said Friends Outside Executive Director Jennifer Tait. “If you have a parent in jail — as a child — you are not responsible for that, you are a victim.”

About 95 percent of Friends Outside’s 400 families from throughout Santa Clara County live below poverty level, Tait added.

“In most cases where incarceration occurs, there is real poverty,” Tait said. “In most cases, it’s the father who is incarcerated who is the bread winner. Without this kind of help, there would be no Christmas for our families.”

Pasturel said giving is a good way to get back to the true Christmas spirit and combat the commercialization of Christmas.

“Kids get so caught up in ‘what am I getting for Christmas,’ it really makes them stop and think about the children who need things and don’t have enough,” Pasturel said.

Friends Outside looks for donations year-round, including items like paperback books, clothing, nonperishable food items, small household items and art and craft supplies.

“Anything that’s got some life in it, we can make use of,” Tait said. “People can also give the gift that keeps on giving and become a mentor. Working with a child can really make an amazing difference.”

Pasturel’s daughter Ciera and her fellow Brownies said it felt good to share and hope to sponsor a family again next year.

For more information or to make a donation, call Jennifer Tait at (408) 295-6033 or visit the office 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 551 Stockton Ave., San Jose.