Fifth Annual Holiday Open House, Cookie Drive, Toy Drive & Blood Drive: The Tradition Born From a Crisis That Became a Community’s Favorite Celebration

Fifth Annual Holiday Open House, Cookie Drive, Toy Drive & Blood Drive: The Tradition Born From a Crisis That Became a Community’s Favorite Celebration

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA — What began in the darkest days of the pandemic has grown into one of the Coachella Valley’s most heartfelt holiday traditions. The Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce invites the entire community to its Fifth Annual Holiday Open House, Cookie Drive, Toy Drive & Blood Drive — a tradition that started with a simple question: How can we help our nurses?
During the height of COVID-19, local nurses were exhausted, overwhelmed, and short on the most basic supplies. Many remember watching them plead publicly for PPE that simply wasn’t available yet. Meanwhile, the community — eager to help but stuck at home — kept asking the Chamber how they could offer support.
“If we couldn’t get them PPE,” said Chamber President & CEO Katie Slimko, “we could at least get them comfort.”
So the Chamber put out a call: Bake cookies. Bring sweet treats. Show our nurses they’re not forgotten.
And the community responded with heart — hundreds of boxes, individually wrapped goodies, homemade recipes, store-bought boxes, and everything in between. Volunteers delivered these treats the very same day to nurses across local hospitals, offering a moment of comfort in a year of chaos.
What started as a small act of kindness has become a cherished annual celebration of community spirit.
Today, the event has blossomed into a joyous open house hosted at the Chamber office, complete with homemade bites prepared by Chamber staff, hundreds of attendees, and a three-part mission to spread cheer throughout the valley:

• Cookie Drive for Nurses – Participants bring boxes or bags of cookies (homemade or store-bought) to be delivered to local nurses the same day.
• Toy Drive – New, unwrapped toys collected for children in need throughout the region.
• Blood Drive – In partnership with LifeStream, donors can give the gift of life at the on-site bloodmobile.