Eliza Lainez, 6, had one big wish for Santa Claus: Could he bring her a soccer ball to play with her sister and friends at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach’s Eastman/Fairfield location?
Santa came through for Eliza. With a little help from his elves who double as Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze readers, Santa delivered not only a soccer ball but also a basketball to Eliza.
“She was so excited,” said Claudia Torres, Eastman/Fairfield director. “Now she can play soccer and basketball with brand new balls.”
Eliza wasn’t the only one excited last week.
Members of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club display some of the balls collected in the Press-Telegram’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club display some of the balls collected in the Press-Telegram’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club display some of the balls collected in the Press-Telegram’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Members of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club display some of the balls collected in the Press-Telegram’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The Long Beach Boys & Girls Club gets in the holiday spirit with, from left, Press-Telegram columnist Rich Archbold, Chief Executive Officer at Boys & Girls Clubs Don Rodriguez, Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, and P-T senior editor Tom Bray on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with balls collected in this year’s “Let’s Play Ball” campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Boys & Girls Club members are joined by Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with balls collected in this year’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Boys & Girls Club members get down with Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with balls collected in this year’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Elina Lainez, 6, gets a hug from Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with a basketball collected in this year’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Boys & Girls Club members interact with Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with balls collected in this year’s Press-Telegram “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach Boys & Girls Club members jump for joy on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, with balls collected in this year’s Press-Telegram “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Members of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club display some of the balls collected in the Press-Telegram’s “Let’s Play Ball” holiday campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Shouts of thanks and congratulations greeted news that the annual Let’s Play Ball drive had reached its goal to get Long Beach kids more than 2,500 new sports balls in time for theholidays — and was nearly there for Harbor Area kids.
Traditionally, the Press-Telegram and Daily Breeze campaigns – in which their respective weekly sister publications, the Grunion Gazette and the Beach Reporter, also participate – have been separate, with the former helping the Long Beach clubs and the latter helping the L.A. Harbor clubs.
But in 2025, for the second consecutive year, we essentially combined the campaigns, though the donations remained separate. The goal was to provide at least 5,000 balls combined – or 2,500 to each organization, with balls donated in the Long Beach area going to Boys & Girls Clubs in that city and those donated in the South Bay going toward the Boys & Girls Clubs of the L.A. Harbor. The campaign had collected 2,553 balls for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach, as of Friday, Dec. 26, and 2,422 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the L.A. Harbor, as of Christmas Eve.
“We are so thankful for a lot of people who helped our kids have a great holiday,” said Don Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach. “Because of this great support, our kids will have the equipment they need to play all year long. We are grateful to everyone who made it happen.”
“I love happy endings,” said Tom Bray, senior editor for Southern California News Group’s Los Angeles publications. “We are truly grateful to all our readers who came through for kids one more time. No matter the challenges of the season, the community always pitches in to make our drive a success and for that, we say thank you and happy new year!”
Rodriguez had special thanks for those readers who donated more than $10,000 to match the $10,000 contributed by an anonymous donor. That made for a combined total of morethan $20,000 to buy sports equipment for the kids.
Rodriguez also thanked the anonymous donor and the donors who contributed at least $1,000 or more to make the match, including Scott Chernoff, Gene and LeAnn Johnson, Joseph Medlin, Elizabeth Robin, Craig Dougherty, the Miller Foundation and the Long Beach Century Club. And Rodriguez thanked Big 5 Sporting Goods as well for giving customers a 25% discount on sports balls purchased for the ball drive.
Rodriguez also recognized these companies and individuals for their support: John Morris, general manager of the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant; Phil Trani, owner of Trani’s restaurant; First Bank; 9Round Kickbox & Fitness Center; Watch Me! Sports Bar; Craig Erickson, and Marcus Williams, general manager of the Toyota-Lexus Los Angeles Region.
“It was great,” Rodriguez said, “to see the smiles and happiness on the faces of kids and their parents as we delivered the balls.”
Finally, he gave a big thanks to Alexander Fearing, who played Petey, the Press-Telegram’s mascot, Petey. Petey entertained kids as the balls were distributed and photographs were taken last week.
And we thank you again for your generosity and kindness in making a difference in the lives of youngsters like Eliza Lainez — and so many others during this holiday season.
Happy new year!