Joy of Christmas

With her grass-roots organization 1 to 1, Debbie Herman of Ojai multiplies magic and is already gearing up for Christmas 2007.

The formula is simple: Instead of filling Herman’s stocking, friends and family give her cash, which Herman combines with savvy shopping skills to equal enough presents for 20 struggling Ventura County families.

Herman started two years ago after reading a newspaper story about how Hurricane Katrina relief pulled dollars away from local organizations supporting homeless and working poor. “I decided to do my own thing where I could actually see where my money was going,” said Herman, 41.

She connected with Lutheran Social Services in Thousand Oaks, adopting 10 families through them.

That Christmas she met mothers in the Lutheran Services parking lot to distribute garbage bags bulging with gifts, and envelopes with $100 each.

“It was pretty moving,” Herman said. “We were all crying. They were so appreciative. That’s really what I wanted ? to have the connection.

“I didn’t think I’d do it more than a year,” she added. “(But) when I met the moms, it really did inspire me to do more.”

Herman adopted 20 families for Christmas 2006 and spent $5,500 on gifts. Her goal for 2007 is to adopt 30 families.

In the first week of January, Herman’s Ojai sunroom was already packed with toys, clothes, toaster ovens, hair dryers, purses and more. She had braved day-after-Thanksgiving sales at Wal-Mart, lining up at 4 a.m.

“Black Friday was the worst,” Herman said with a laugh. “I usually don’t venture out ? (but) I enjoy getting deals for the kids.”

Her major coup came at Macy’s, where Herman bought 200 items for $700. “I have become a professional shopper,” she said.

Herman emphasizes that every dollar donated is a dollar spent on gifts. She personally covers administrative costs. She hasn’t applied for nonprofit status because she’s opposed to spending money on paperwork when it could go toward gifts.

Herman is utterly approachable, with dark shiny hair and a substantial smile. She’s new to philanthropy, having spent the last two decades working 70 hours a week as operations manager for her father’s Camarillo company, Advanced Imaging.

The small family business grew to 180 employees but retained its close-knit quality, Herman said. When her father sold it in 2003, Herman decided to take a few years off. But she discovered freedom had its own complications.

“When I was at work, I was so driven to do the best for the company, my fellow employees, my father and myself,” Herman said. “After I left the company, I really had a hard time adjusting to not being so purpose-driven.

“Nothing I did seemed to fill the void until this,” she said. “It has definitely made me a happier person. Helping others has such spiraling effects: It helps me ? the moms feel hope ? the kids feel joy ? and it shines a bright light on the number of caring, supportive people I have in my life.”

People such as Diane Shirley, who met Herman in 1998 at Advanced Imaging. Shirley remembers reading the same 2005 newspaper story that set 1 to 1 in motion. But Herman “read the article and did something about it,” Shirley said. “Not just turn the page like most of us do.”

When Herman stepped up, it was easy for her friends to do the same, Shirley said.

More than 40 families contributed to 1 to 1 in the past two years, Herman said. In addition to giving Christmas donations, they attend Herman’s semiannual 1 to 1 poker parties. The last party raised $1,800.

“The thing that’s really amazed me ? is how much my friends and family have helped me with this,” Herman said. “It’s overwhelming. When I think about it, it really makes me emotional.

“You always think, ‘What can one person do?’ But it really doesn’t end up being one person. It’s a whole community.”

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