Tag Archives: holiday

Birthday Gift for ‘Holiday Ball Drive’

by Woody

Woody’s new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is available at Amazon (click here), other online retailers, and orderable at all bookshops.

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I love my oldest granddaughter Maya “to the moon and beyond,” as I often tell her, for a million reasons and let me share just one.

Last December, the day before her fifth birthday, little Maya went to a big box store with her mommy to pick out a sports ball. Purple being Maya’s favorite color, odds were good she would select a soccer ball of that color; or perhaps a basketball with pink stripes, her second-favorite color; instead, she surprisingly chose a brown football which she proudly carried to the checkout line…

A small sampling of gifts from “Woody’s Holiday Ball Drive.”

…and, even more proudly—“beaming” was her mommy description—later that day dropped it into a Toys For Tots bin at her swim class. On the drive home, her hair wet and smelling of sour chlorine, Maya sweetly tried to imagine the smiling face of the child—not necessarily a boy, she told her mommy, “because girls like to play football, too”—who would receive it.

 “It was a real positive experience that she enjoyed and learned from,” Maya’s mommy, who happens to be my daughter, shared. “For the first time, giving really registered with her. She understood some children don’t have a ball to play with, much less many balls and many toys, like she has.”

Maya’s enlightening experience is not unique. Every year I hear similar stories of kids participating—many picking out balls their parents or grandparents pay for; some using allowance or birthday money; a few raising group funds—in “Woody’s Holiday Ball Drive” that kicks off once again today to give sports balls to local disadvantaged youth.

The seed for this endeavor was planted three decades ago at a local youth basketball clinic when Ventura College legend and former NBA All-Star Cedric Ceballos awarded autographed basketballs to handful of lucky attendees. Leaving the gym afterward, I happened upon a 10-year-old boy who won one of the prized keepsakes…

…which he was now dribbling on the rough blacktop outdoor court, and shooting baskets with, all while perhaps imagining he was Ceballos with the game clock ticking down to the final buzzer.

Meanwhile, the real Ceballos’ Sharpie signature was wearing off.

Curious as to why the boy did not carefully carry the trophy basketball home un-smudged to put safely on a bookshelf, I interrupted his playing to ask.

“I’ve never had my own basketball,” he answered matter-of-factly between shots.

That Christmastime, visions of that boy—and other boys and girls who don’t have their own basketball to shoot, or soccer ball to kick, or football to throw—danced through my head. So I asked you dear readers to help make the holidays happier and you responded like MVPs—Most Valuable Philanthropists.

Once more, I am asking you to drop off new sports balls (no batteries required!) at a Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, Toys For Tots, or similar program. The organizations will see that they wind up in deserving young hands.

Also, through Dec. 13, you can hand off your bouncing gifts at Jensen Design & Survey at 1672 Donlon St. (weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) near Target on Telephone Road in Ventura; or have online orders shipped to the same address; and I will take it from there.

If you participate, please email me about your gifts at woodywriter@gmail.com so I can add your generosity to this year’s ball tally as well as acknowledge you, with a dedication to a loved one if desired, in a future column.

Maya’s Scottish last name McAuley translates to “danger is sweet,” but as she will now tell you, “giving is sweeter.”

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Essay copyrights Woody Woodburn

Woody’s new novel “The Butterfly Tree” is now available in paperback and eBook at Amazon (click here), other online bookstores, and is orderable at all bookshops.

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Woody writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at

Holiday Sports Ball Drive Tips Off

by Woody

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: @woodywoodburn

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Woody’s Holiday Ball Drive

Tips Off Honoring Cowan

            Some things can be counted on like clockwork: Flowers and birdsong arriving in spring, sunburns coming in summertime, colors changing and leaves falling in autumn.

And, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Jim Cowan being the first person to donate to my annual Holiday Sports Ball Drive. Always, he donated ten basketballs because the sport was especially dear to him. He played on an undefeated CIF championship team at Ventura High under legendary coach Bob Tuttle in 1949; on two state championship teams at Ventura College; at Whittier College; and while serving in the military he played on the Far East Army All-Star Team.

Always, also, Cowan dedicated his gift basketballs in honor of coaches and teachers and other individuals who had played an important role in his life.

A few of the hundreds of balls from last year’s drive.

This year, sadly, birds have fallen silent and leaves seem gray. The first ten basketballs will not be contributed by James F. Cowan because the longtime former Ventura County Superintendent of Schools died this past March at age 87.

However, the first ten basketballs to tip off this year’s Ball Drive still have Cowan’s fingerprints on them: I am making the donation in his honor. Perhaps there is a special person or role model, loved one or friend, deceased or still living, you wish to honor with a donation of a sports ball?

The Ball Drive also has the fingerprints of another former Ventura College basketball player, Cedric Ceballos. About 20 years ago, I was at a local youth basketball clinic when the NBA All-Star presented autographed basketballs to a handful of lucky attendees.

Leaving the gym afterward, I happened upon a 10-year-old boy who won one of the prized keepsakes – which he was dribbling on the rough blacktop outdoor court, and shooting baskets with, while perhaps imagining himself to be Ceballos.

Meanwhile, the real Ceballos’ Sharpie signature was wearing off.

Curious why the boy had not carefully carried the trophy basketball home and put it safely on a bookshelf, I interrupted his playing to ask.

“I’ve never had my own basketball,” he answered matter-of-factly between shots.

That Christmastime, thinking of that boy – and other boys and girls who do not have their own basketball to shoot, soccer ball to kick, football to throw – Woody’s Holiday Ball Drive was born.

Once again, I am encouraging you dear readers to join in by dropping off a new sports ball – or balls – at any local Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, youth club or church and they will find a worthy young recipient.

Or drop balls off (weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 20) at Jensen Design & Survey at 1672 Donlon St. near Target on Telephone Road in Ventura, or have online orders shipped to the same address, and I will take it from there. Among those who will receive a ball and a smile thanks to your generosity will be Ventura County Foster Kids at their annual holiday party.

Clubs and groups can also make it a collective endeavor. For example, once again the Camarillo/Somis Pleasant Valley Lions Club has pledged to donate 33 footballs, 33 soccer balls and 34 basketballs.

Also, please email me about your gift at woodywriter@gmail.com so I can add your generosity to this year’s tally.

With his donation last year, Jim Cowan noted his deep belief in “the Golden Rule” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” concluding: “I am 87 now and these principles have guided me and my family over all of these years.”

These worthy principles also apply to everyone who donates to this year’s Ball Drive.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.

Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …