With assistance from companies, stores and organizations, including several in Sunnyvale, Cullenbine's Family Giving Tree is gathering gifts for almost 40,000 youngsters and seniors from all over the Bay Area this year.

"I have the best job in the whole world: being an elf for people in need," Cullenbine says.

Cullenbine founded the nonprofit organization 12 years ago; it's dedicated to fulfilling the holiday wishes of needy youngsters and adults. She compares her organization to Santa's workshop, with herself as the queen elf, and the almost 3,500 volunteers as the worker elves who make her dream come true every year. Several thousand people all over the Bay Area, both young and old, benefit from the organization's efforts, she says.

"The Giving Tree is very, very generous," says Joni Kamiya, program coordinator for the Idlywood Care Center in Sunnyvale. Idlywood has been participating in the program for the past four years, Kamiya says.

The 155 residents at the center are either housed for short- or long-term care, depending on their situations, Kamiya says. She adds that some don't have any families in the area and are often in need of basic necessities like blankets or socks.

"We help our residents put a wish list together and send it to the Giving Tree," Kamiya says. "When we request socks, they usually send us three times more than we ask for."

The center often holds celebrations for its residents during the holidays, when people come in to visit or sing songs with them, she says.

"The residents feel good if they have a wrapped present to open," she says.

The Pacific Autism Center for Education (PACE) is another Sunnyvale organization that has been receiving gifts from the Giving Tree for the past four years. Each of the 36 clients at PACE—both adults and children—receive both a fun and a practical gift each year, according to Rachel Banse, residential director.

Many companies, churches and organizations in Sunnyvale participate in the program by hosting a Christmas tree in their facility.

"We put up our tree after Thanksgiving and decorate it with all the cards that the Giving Tree sends us," says Gina Williams, customer service manager at the Westmoor Village branch of Wells Fargo Bank in Sunnyvale.

Each card has the wish or desire of one needy child or adult listed on it. Any interested person can choose one or more cards and fulfill the listed desires.

Although the program has gained momentum over the past 12 years, it had a very slow beginning, Cullenbine says.

"We called almost 100 companies and they said no," she says. "Generally it takes very little for companies to come on board."

She says one article in a local newspaper provided the jump-start the program needed, and soon she had the support of almost 30 companies. Recalling the difficult times her own single-parent household underwent when she was a child, Cullenbine says she is very eager to help as many children and elderly people as she possibly can, especially during the holidays.

"Five percent of the people we bring gifts to are senior citizens," she says. "The first year we had 300 kids, and last year we had 35,000."

This year Cullenbine is getting more high-profile help in the person of figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, an Olympic gold medalist.

Yamaguchi's Always Dream Foundation has partnered with the Family Giving Tree to promote the program and encourage more companies and individuals to participate.

"We always support children's charities throughout the year and were looking to expand," Yamaguchi said.

Yamaguchi embarked on a shopping spree at the Sunnyvale Target store on Nov. 21, along with National Semiconductor CEO Brian Halla and his employees.

"The Giving Tree is exactly what we were looking for," Yamaguchi said at the event. "It's a perfect fit."

Halla said his company has supported the Giving Tree for the past 10 years. This year his executives and employees hope to provide 1,200 gifts, which is a 25 percent increase from last year. National Semiconductor is sponsoring all the Target shopping sprees this year to support the Giving Tree, according to Luann Jenkins, spokeswoman for the company. Besides buying the gifts, National Semiconductor employees also wrap hundreds of donated gifts and deliver them to the Giving Tree warehouse. The economic slump has only made his company more dedicated to this cause, he said.

"The tougher the times get, the deeper you dig," Halla said. "I urge all CEOs to contribute to this program."

Almost 20 National Semiconductor employees sporting red elf caps pushed shopping carts around the store and selected the gift items that were requested on colored cards displayed on a Christmas tree in the store. National Semiconductor spent $3,028 on that single shopping spree on Nov. 21, Jenkins says.

Janel Ahrens, a Sunnyvale resident and National Semiconductor employee, participated in the shopping spree at the Target store. Ahrens says she has always been involved in charity work and wanted to contribute to this cause ever since she found out about it.

"This is one way for me to give back to the community," she says.

According to Paul Bennie, store manager, nine more of these shopping sprees have been planned at the Target store over the next few weeks. Bennie adds, "We're partnering with the Giving Tree for the very first time."

The store does a lot for the community and is happy to provide more than 1,000 gifts for needy families, he says. Different companies sponsor each shopping spree, he adds.

Yamaguchi's name being associated with the Giving Tree has had tremendous results thus far, Cullenbine says. The partnership with Yamaguchi's foundation has spread word of her mission much farther and wider than it would have been otherwise. Cullenbine says she was not looking for any such partnership and was very surprised when the foundation contacted her.

"I nearly fell out of my chair when they called me in August," she says. "Kristi has been an incredibly generous spirit."

Cullenbine says that although she has not advertised her program much, it has grown through word of mouth and their website. However, Yamaguchi's foundation has strong ties with the media and is helping the Giving Tree with marketing and public relations.

Dean Osaki, executive director of the Always Dream Foundation, says Yamaguchi has supported children's charities every year for the past seven years and throws holiday parties for them. The foundation offers ski lessons, holiday parties and gift-giving drives for children, Osaki says. The foundation was looking to expand their program by partnering with an established organization and growing it, he says.

Cullenbine says the current economic slump and the ensuing layoffs have resulted in a 40 percent decline of participating organizations this year. However, she says she does not worry about her program.

"The kindness of the communities is amazing," she says.

From Dec. 13, all gifts are brought to a warehouse provided this year by Cisco Systems, she says. The 3,500 volunteers then get to work sorting and organizing the gifts in the warehouse. From Dec. 19 to 21, all the agencies come to the warehouse to pick up gifts for their clients.

"Every 15 minutes we have an agency coming in for three days," she says. "It's unbelievable to see gifts piled up 12 feet high, taking up almost the whole warehouse."

For more information on how to participate in the Giving Tree program, visit www.familygivingtree.org or call 408.946.3111.