While most people will spend Christmas morning at home celebrating with loved ones, a group of dedicated volunteers will be hosting a sleeping bag giveaway 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Outreach Center of Safehaven Ministries of Sacramento. The event will be located near the homeless shelters and food kitchens at 1400 North C Street, Sacramento, Calif. 95811.

This past Saturday, a group of dedicated volunteers spent the morning unloading trucks and accepting donations in preparation for the Christmas morning event.

Approximately 800 brand new sleeping bags along with mats, gloves, socks, clothing and headgear will be available on a first come-first served basis on Christmas morning.

The motivating forces behind this year’s giveaway are Safehaven Site Pastor Joe Talacon and Safehaven Lead Pastor Don F. Harris.

“I came from the streets,” stated Talacon when describing why he and his family will be spending most of their Christmas morning serving others. “I have been reaching out to those in need in this area for over six years and have been blessed to combine efforts with Pastor Harris to create Safehaven,” said Talacon.

Talacon spearheaded a similar event two years ago as the leader of His Streets Ministries, a faith-based homeless outreach ministry. He indicated that there is an overwhelming need for such an event in the Sacramento area.

“We will give out everything we have with no questions asked,” he stated.

Although Talacon currently works as a welder, the creation of an outreach ministry is his calling. His goal is to transition to serving as a pastor with Safehaven Ministries on a full-time basis.

Safehaven Ministries of Sacramento has been in existence for just over a year. While seeking support to open its Outreach Center on a regular basis, Safehaven has sponsored events for the homeless community during major holidays such as Easter and Thanksgiving.

As a part of their efforts to expand their ministry and generate support from the business community, Safehaven founder Don F. Harris has regularly hosted “Third Thursday Business Breakfasts” at the 1400 North C Street location. Each breakfast has featured a different theme or guest speaker to further the ministries’ goals of “meeting needs and solving problems with integrity and excellence.”

The Christmas morning giveaway is generously supported by the local faith-based community. On hand lending their assistance to unload and store the donations alongside the dozen or so volunteers was President of the Interfaith Council John Fish. He was accompanied by Chuck Aldeman and Ron Kaldor of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Many generous donations were delivered between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. this past Saturday. Amongst the various contributors to the efforts were Sacramento Diocese Catholic Women who donated scarves, mittens, socks and sleeping bags; the Folsom L.D.S. who brought 200 mats and sleeping bags and the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library who dropped off donated books including dozens of Bibles to pass out during the scheduled service and giveaway. Other supporters include Bayside Church of South Sacramento, the Bayside Church of Granite Bay and local businessman Moe Mohanna.

The facility at 1400 North C Street will be open between 9:00 a.m. and noon on Saturday, December 24 to accept additional new and gently used items to contribute to their efforts. The most requested items that are in short supply include gloves, socks, headgear, and of course, sleeping bags.

Financial donations to support Safehaven’s efforts to bring Christmas cheer to the less fortunate can be accepted at any time. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the efforts to purchase additional items or to provide the refreshments that will be served during the giveaway is encouraged to contact Safehaven Site Pastor Joe Talacon via email at

joe.talancon@gmail.com or by leaving a message and contact information for Safehaven Ministries on their website at Safehavensacramento.org.