Thirteen years ago, a little boy on 17th Street said something to Tito Rodriguez that would forever change his life.
“He taps me on the chest and he says, ‘Hey — you’re the Hood Santa, because Santa never comes over here,’” Rodriguez recalled while he was in Central Long Beach that December, handing out gifts to children in need.
“It hurt me. But at the same time, it reminded me, this kid was like me growing up.”
That moment, he said, “instantly” ended his career as a music producer. “I called my wife. I said, ‘I quit music. That’s it. I found my purpose. My purpose is to serve kids, serve families, and this is what I’m going to do.’”
That little boy had spotted Rodriguez in a paper-thin Santa suit he’d just ordered online.
Before that day, Rodriguez was driving through Long Beach with truckloads of toys and clothes when he accidentally terrified a man pushing his baby in a stroller.
“Keep in mind, there’s four truckloads of [guys] behind me,” he said. “He was scared, obviously. He’s like, ‘What the heck is going on?’”
Rodriguez jumped out to offer toys and water, but the man bolted, thinking he was in danger.
Afterward, a friend advised him, “You should buy a suit or something.”
So Rodriguez hopped on eBay and bought a $12 Santa suit, “the cheapest Santa suit in the world,” unknowingly stepping into the role that would define his life.
Before the red suit, Rodriguez was a successful producer working with Snoop Dogg and other Long Beach legends. Almost immediately after the boy dubbed him the Hood Santa, he began calling his old connections. “I hit up Nick from Diamond Supply and said, ‘Yo, Nick, I want to help some kids.’ He says, ‘Alright, cool.’”
Diamond Supply, at the height of its popularity in 2012, gave Rodriguez tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing. He put the suit back on and headed into Long Beach’s Eastside neighborhoods — where he was raised near 15th and Walnut.
As he worked his way through the city, he eventually was left with just two boxes. Suddenly, he hesitated. “I heard God’s voice tell me, ‘You better give it away.’ So I did.” Minutes later, his phone rang. “It was Diamond. ‘Yo, Tito, we got two U-Hauls full of Diamond for you!’” Rodriguez took it as a sign. “I knew it wasn’t just something I wanted to do, but something God was leading me into.”
From Street Corners To A Citywide Mission
By 2016, the Local Hearts Foundation was born.
Through the foundation, Rodriguez taps local companies, friends, and community members to fund and supply his efforts. He personally gathers toys, clothing, groceries, and essentials from donors — often through direct outreach and cold calls — and delivers them to families in underserved Long Beach neighborhoods. What began as one man with a Santa suit and a trunk full of toys has grown into a year-round grassroots operation powered by generosity and grit.
Although Rodriguez still delivers toys as the Hood Santa every December, the nonprofit now runs major events year-round. During the back-to-school season, Local Hearts hands out thousands of backpacks. On Thanksgiving, they distribute turkeys by the thousands.
Recently, Rodriguez worked with Toyota to donate $40,000 in Chromebooks to local children after hearing about how difficult it was for children to get to and from the library in certain areas. “Whatever we can raise,” he said.
For Rodriguez, the drive is personal.
“I didn’t have Thanksgiving until I was a teenager. We couldn’t afford it. My mom had to decide, ‘Do I pay the bills or do I buy a turkey?’”
After his father passed away on Christmas Eve when he was six, Rodriguez says his family struggled to survive. But that hardship forged his outlook: “The hood never lacks talent; it just lacks resources.”
That’s why he’s especially proud of Local Hearts’ youth mentorship program. Currently, 25 kids are enrolled, learning everything from how to open a bank account to how to build a résumé. As the program enters its second year, he plans to teach life skills: “Plumbing, how to work on cars, a tune-up, oil change, brakes — those are things you have to be taught. Those are skills you keep forever.”
One day, a mentee told him something that brought him back to that boy on 17th Street. “Thank you guys for believing in me,” the teen said. “I would have never learned any of this because I have nobody watching me.” Rodriguez remembered thinking, “He alone is worth it.”
Investing In The Future
Rodriguez’s dream for Local Hearts Foundation is to open a brick-and-mortar community center—“a building where kids can come if they need somebody to talk to.” He envisions a place where youth can learn life skills, receive mentorship, and where parents can sit beside them to “see their son learn how to change a tire — or maybe they don’t know how to do it either, and they can come learn too.”
Until that vision becomes reality, he’s not slowing down. “There are more no’s than yeses, but it doesn’t deter me,” he said. “I show people their contribution can change kids’ lives. Invest in the kids, invest in the future.”
Despite offers to take his influence into politics, Rodriguez insists he’s right where he belongs — on the streets of Long Beach, pounding the pavement for families who need a hand.
“People tell me, ‘If you cut your hair and wear a suit, you could raise $50 million.’ But why do I have to do that? I want these kids to see I’m a real guy — if I can do it, they can too.”
The Hood Santa’s mission remains simple: to show up for the next generation. “I’m not a politician,” Rodriguez said. “I’m a servant of the Lord, and I want to be good to people. That’s it.”
Flex page 25: “I didn’t have Thanksgiving until I was a teenager. We couldn’t afford it. My mom had to decide, ‘Do I pay the bills or do I buy a turkey?’”
Page 4: "Invest in the kids, invest in the future.”