By Jennifer Crain
For the past two years, our family has roamed a children’s clothing department sometime during the holiday season, looking for jeans or jackets in sizes designated on a four-by-six note card.
We take the clothes home, wrap them in bright paper and ribbon, label and deliver them to a drop-off point. Programs like these – that help families who can’t afford gifts in a discreet way – play an important role in making the holidays enjoyable, or even possible, for more families in our community. We’ll probably do the same this year.
But I’d like to do something more. I’d like my kids to learn what it means to help through a tangible community volunteer experience. And I know my own habits: I want to get this on the calendar now, before the month of December fills up with get-togethers.
So I did a little brainstorming and called the Salvation Army.
I’ve heard about the Community Kitchen for years. I learned that, in addition to serving Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to 225 people last year, they operate year-round, serving three meals every day of the week.
My father-in-law, a dedicated motorcyclist, has participated in the annual Toy Run since 1990. (Loads of photos from the 2011 Toy Run can be found here.) I didn’t know that toys donated through this program are combined with the efforts of several donation programs, and all are part of the Salvation Army’s larger effort to deliver gifts to kids in need. Last year they distributed more than 28,000 toys in December. That takes a corps of volunteers to the tune of 1,600.
The Salvation Army’s Jeannie McConnell, Business Administrator, and Catholic Community Services’ Marsha Hubbard Burch, Program Manager for the Community Kitchen, say there are numerous ways for families to get involved in the weeks leading up to the holiday season.
The Community Kitchen
About 900 volunteers head down to the community kitchen at the corner of Fifth and Plum every month. The year-round program serves three meals a day, seven days a week to families and individuals. That’s 110,000 meals per year.
The Community Kitchen, which takes place in a Salvation Army facility and is run by Catholic Community Services, welcomes families with school-aged children as volunteers. Burch says kids in the lower elementary grades can help by serving cold foods, wrapping utensils in napkins or handing out desserts to guests. Older kids help tote or lift small crates and take on other light jobs. Due to potential dangers in a kitchen environment, Burch asks that preschool children, toddlers and infants stay home.
If a three-hour shift isn’t in the cards for your family, consider donating. The kitchen always takes baked goods, such as cookies and rolls. During the holiday season, a family can assemble and deliver individual bags for guests containing items such as baked goods or mittens.
Burch says families often volunteer Mondays from 9-12:30. Volunteers are also appreciated on Thursdays and Fridays.
To volunteer at The Community Kitchen, contact Marsha Hubbard Burch, (360) 349-2808 (cell) or 956-3462. Or email her at marshahubb@aol.com. The Community Kitchen is located at 808 5th Ave (at Plum) in Olympia
Sorting Toys from the Giving Tree and the Salvation Army Toy Run
About 1,400 gifts were gathered under the Salvation Army’s Giving Tree at Westfield Capital Mall last year. During the annual Olympia Toy Run, motorcyclists drove in another 5,700 toys. These are impressive and photogenic displays of generosity. But once the gifts are gathered into U-Hauls and motorcycles are back in their garages, someone needs to sort through all those Groovy Girls and Lego sets.
December 3-7, the week following this year’s Toy Run on December 1st, volunteers will start sorting through bags of toys – quickly, since it’s likely many of the toys will be damp from the wintry ride. Families, service clubs and other groups are welcome to come for a few hours and help turn the morass into items that are organized and ready for display.
McConnell says sorting is an easy job that’s suitable for upper elementary students. Younger school-aged kids can help a little later in the season by helping assemble grab bags, collections of smaller toys that will be given to families at the Toy and Joy Gift Shop (see below).
Toy sorting will take place December 3-7.
Adopt-A-Family Toy Distribution
Every year the Salvation Army matches qualifying families with donors who “adopt” a family for the holidays. Adopted families receive gifts they’ve requested for children in the family (sometimes teens and adults, too) and a box of food for a holiday meal.
Some adopted families opt to meet their donors, who drop gifts and food off directly at the recipient’s home. Others pick up the gifts themselves.
On December 10th and 11th, gifts from donors will be dropped off at a Salvation Army facility. Pre-wrapped gifts and boxes of food will be loaded in, sorted and labeled by volunteers. When adopted families arrive to pick up their items on the 12th and 13th, middle and high school students can help load gifts and food into vehicles. Because of the amount of loading and lifting, McConnell suggests that no one younger than middle schoolers participate.
Adopt-a-Family sorting and distribution will take place December 10-13.
The Toy and Joy Gift Shop
Toys sorted at the beginning of the month will be available in the Toy and Joy Gift Shop, where families who qualify will arrive by appointment to choose toys and clothing for their children.
Teen and adult volunteers can help by registering for shifts running from 8:45-12:00 or 1:00-4:00. Kids ages 16 and older may accompany a parent, helping them navigate through multiple rooms where toys are organized by age range and theme.
Kids ages 13-15 can help distribute grab bags or help load items into guests’ vehicles.
The Toy and Joy Gift Shop will take place on December 17-20.
To sort toys, help with Adopt-a-Family gifts or assist guests at the Toy and Joy Gift Shop, contact Jeannie McConnell at the Salvation Army, (360) 352-8596 x111.
Thrifty Thurston highlights inexpensive family fun in Thurston County. The weekly series focuses on family-friendly activities throughout our community. If you have a suggestion for a post, send us a note at submit@thurstontalk.com. For more events and to learn what’s happening in Olympia and the surrounding area, click here.
