Community Action stays very busy assisting families during holiday season

Albion Correctional provides gifts for children of young mother killed in October

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Cameron Richardson, custodian at Community Action in Albion, stands in a hallway full of boxes he taped together and helped fill for families at Christmas.

ALBION – The holiday time is incredibly busy at Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

As Christmas day rolls closer, staff at Community Action have been taken applications for holiday assistance, packing boxes of food for families and filling bags with presents for children.

The halls in the office at 411 East State St. are lined with food boxes and offices are piled high with bags full of gifts.

On Tuesday afternoon, Community Action was involved in a very special donation.

For four years, the Albion Correctional Facility has adopted a family and provided enough toys and gifts which Santa would admit would fill his sleigh.

Yeshua Nunez-Rexach, 16, and his brother Yelian will receive gifts and toys for Christmas donated by Albion Correctional Facility.

This year, the correctional facility chose to help the family of Cristal Nunez-Rexach, the 33-year-old mother who was killed Oct. 15 on Route 104 in an accident with a tractor trailer.

Nunez-Rexach left behind two children, Yeshua, 16, and Yelian, 13.

Her story is heartbreaking for Michelle Figueroa, emergency services case worker at Community Action.

“We had become good friends,” Figueroa said. “I helped her get clothes and an apartment when she first came to the area.”

Figueroa explained Nunez-Rexach moved locally after Hurricane Maria devasted her home in Puerto Rico.

Stephanie Peruzzini, offender rehabilitation coordinator at Albion Correctional Facility, said they were blessed to have been able to provide this family with a Christmas they truly deserve.

“We love sharing our experience working with you guys, which has over the years has resulted in others in our families and our friends helping contribute with us,” Peruzzini said. “This is honestly something we look forward to each year, knowing we can help others in need, especially with all that is going on in the world.”

Annette Finch, soon-to-be-retired emergency services coordinator at Community Action for 30 years, said Albion Correctional Facility is a great friend to Community Action. She said last year they adopted a family with young children who didn’t have beds and were sleeping on the floor.

“The Correctional Facility went all out last year,” Finch said. “With help from the Emma Reed Foundation, we got beds for all three girls and the Correctional Facility bought clothes and toys for all of them.”

This year, in addition to clothes and toys for the Nunez-Rexach children, the Correctional Facility purchased the family a large television.