Donations helping to meet a growing need
The chairwoman of the program says filling Santa’s bag is an “enormous” task.
PARIS – For the past decade, Gerri Price has been Mrs. Santa Claus to grateful parents of young children.
As chairwoman of Christmas For Kids, she’s coordinated the flow of cash and gift donations to the program, open to any family that meets state fuel assistance guidelines.
And every year, the need gets greater, and it costs more to meet that need. Last year 700 children ages 12 and under were served. This year it’s expected that 750 or more children will be served.
The $35 to $50 spent per child doesn’t go as far as it did years ago, she said. So throughout the year she keeps her eyes out for clearance specials, anywhere she can find them, for toys and children’s clothing.
“Eleven months out of the year it’s a really easy job,” Price said. “In December, it’s enormous.”
She couldn’t do it without the help of a lot of volunteer “elves,” especially her daughter, Debbie Laverdiere, who helps with the shopping.
This month, volunteers have been filling gift requests nearly every night in the basement of Community Concepts, Inc., where the toys are stored. “We’ll be bagging every night between now and Christmas week,” Price said.
Parents who receive the help for their young children “are happy with anything,” she said. The infants always get a sleeper. Hats and mittens are also standard gifts, “and we also try to put a book in every bag, for the literacy part of it.”
Christmas For Kids is one of several child-assistance programs under the umbrella of Rightstart, which also offers Christmas For Teens, a book swap, Coats For Kids, a summer tutoring program and scholarships.
The gifts and donations, which sustain the $30,000 annual cost of Christmas For Kids, come from a variety of sources, she said.
“The phone is always ringing,” Price said, with “people who want to donate or sponsor a fund-raiser.”
This year, local radio station WOXO is having a male employee who loses a bet stand outside the Main Street, Norway, station for a couple of hours dressed in a muumuu seeking donations.
Norway Savings Bank, led by employee Brenda Moore, helps the program with fund-raisers and employee contributions. “They even go out and shop for the kids,” Price said of the bank’s employees.
Several of the larger area stores, including Hannaford, New Balance and Wal-Mart, encourage their shoppers to buy gifts and donate them to the cause.
Applications for assistance under the program are available at Community Concepts, Inc. at Market Square in Paris. Price may be reached at 539-4176.
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