Ducks Host Holiday Shopping Spree for Students from The Wooden Floor

The Ducks brought the spirit of the season to life this week when they hosted a holiday shopping spree for 15 students from The Wooden Floor, a Santa Ana-based creative youth development nonprofit.

Dressed in holiday sweaters, Ducks players Leo Carlsson, Brett Leason, Brock McGinn, Frank Vatrano and Olen Zellweger, along with their significant others and team staff members, gathered with the students at Target in the Irvine Spectrum for an unforgettable afternoon – one that left the students a bit starstruck.

“It's very exciting because I've never actually met anyone famous before,” said 11-year old Zareth Ramirez-Hernandez with a smile.

Ramirez-Hernandez was paired with Zellweger for the shopping excursion, and the Ducks defenseman helped the 6th grader select a number of items, including Legos, clothes and gifts for his siblings. Both came away with some gratitude as well.

“I'm very grateful for this because I've never be part of anything big like this before in my life,” Ramirez-Hernandez said. “I'm grateful for [Zellweger] and for this shopping spree that my parents probably couldn't have afforded.”

This year marks the 17th year the Ducks and the Anaheim Ducks Foundation have partnered with The Wooden Floor to provide this special experience for students from families with limited resources. The event not only ensures gifts under the Christmas tree but also reflects the joy of giving and the power of community connection.

“Getting this opportunity that the Ducks are willing to organize is so great,” Zellweger said. “Everyone on the team is happy and willing to support great events like these.”

As a creative youth development organization, The Wooden Floor uses the power of dance and access to higher education to transform the lives of young people and their families by breaking the cycle of poverty and creating a pathway forward full of opportunity and promise. Since 2005, 100 percent of The Wooden Floor graduates have completed high school on time and immediately enrolled in college, a statistic that is more than double that of their socioeconomic peers.

“This is a very transformative time for the students,” said Dawn S. Reese, CEO of The Wooden Floor. “It's not just any shopping spree… it's emblematic of the excellence we bring to the children. We always say we provide the best to the children so they can rise to their best, and this is just another example of that…We're very fortunate to have the leadership and philanthropic support from the Ducks.”

The longstanding partnership between the Ducks and The Wooden Floor highlights the club’s investment in the local community and is a reflection of the level of excellence that both organizations continually pursue.

“We want to be committed to those organizations that we know are doing great work and continue to do great work,” said Executive Director of the Anaheim Ducks Foundation Wendy Arciero “We want that partnership and those traditions to be something that the players and their wives or partners look forward to every year.”

Now in its 41st year, The Wooden Floor recently achieved a significant milestone – more than 100,000 young people served since 1983. Each year the nonprofit’s year-round afterschool programming serves 475 students at their two Santa Ana locations where dance, academic, college and career readiness and family support programs are all provided free of charge.

Additionally, The Wooden Floor reaches approximately 3,000 students each year through their Dance Free Weeks in Santa Ana public schools, as well as 1,000 students annually through the organization’s Dance Uplifts six-week afterschool program, a partnership with 18 school sites in the Garden Grove Unified School District.

In attendance at the shopping spree this year was the Board of Directors Chair for The Wooden Floor, Jehan Jayakumar, a Newport Beach-based attorney who acknowledged that the nonprofit’s partnership with the Ducks is integral to their mission.

“We focus on generational change, and we think that dance is the way to get these students to that next level of higher education and to help them change their lives,” Jayakumar said. “We couldn't serve the students that we serve or have the impact that we have without community partners like the Ducks. They are the lifeblood of what we do.”

Arely Gutierrez is a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts and has been with The Wooden Floor since she was 10 years old. Her future plans include attending a four-year university to study business and possibly pursue entrepreneurship, a path she credits in part to her time at The Wooden Floor.

“I've created a bond with a lot of people that they've sort of become like family to me,” Gutierrez said. “It’s been amazing being there and having their support, especially through my college applications. I was lucky to come across The Wooden Floor, and they've helped me so much.”

Gutierrez shopped with Vatrano, his wife Rebecca and their two young daughters as they helped the 17-year old select everything from clothing and makeup to books she plans to read over the winter break.

“Anytime you can do something like this, it's awesome, especially around the holidays,” Vatrano said. “Sometimes people can't get certain things, and for us to lend a hand and give them some stuff that they want, it's great. I love being a part of it.”

As The Wooden Floor looks ahead to their next 40-plus years, the organization’s partnership with the Anaheim Ducks – and this annual shopping spree event – continue to offer inspiration and meaningful change for students like Ramirez-Hernandez and Gutierrez.

“I'm so grateful to have been chosen for this experience,” said Gutierrez. “It’s made the holiday season that much better. I'm really grateful to be able to shop with professional hockey players, get to know their families and pick out whatever I want for the holidays. It means the absolute world to me.”

For more information about The Wooden Floor, visit thewoodenfloor.org.