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Northcoast Life Looking for a few good elves
Looking for a few good elves
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Rural Human Services’ Santa’s Workshop, has been operating in Del Norte County for the last seven years, providing holiday gifts for children in need. Because of the tremendous community support last year, Santa’s Workshop was able to provide holiday gifts to 1,011 children in our county. Santa’s elves are already at work planning for this year’s holiday season, and once again we are seeking community involvement to ensure this year’s project is just as successful.
After last year’s season ended, community members were asked to evaluate Santa’s Workshop. They brought forward concerns from the community and because of their suggestions, we are changing some of Santa’s Workshop’s guidelines. Parents applying for the program will be asked for their child’s age, sex and interests. Community donors will then have an idea of the actual interests of the child verses a particular item such as an IPod, bicycle or Gameboy. The range for gifts will be between $20-$40. Children’s interests may include such items as sports, dolls, art, movies, video games, reading or music. Santa’s Workshop will not be gifting or accepting bicycles this year. We could not fulfill all bicycle requests, and even with a lottery, could not prevent three children in one family receiving bikes, while another child did not. It is the intent of the program to help as many children as possible, and while it isn’t possible to fulfill all wishes, we are hoping to give one gift to each child that qualifies.
“Giving Trees” will be set up in local banks and businesses. The
trees are decorated with red- and green-mitten tags, giving the gender,
age and gift interests of children, ages infant to 14 years. Anyone
wishing to participate can take a tag from a tree, purchase the gift,
and return the tag and unwrapped gift to Santa’s Workshop at 555 H St.
(next door to the museum).
This program is entirely funded through donations from the community and Rural Human Services. Volunteers are needed, as well as gifts and monetary donations, gift bags, wrapping paper, scotch tape and sticker gift tags. The volunteer workers are essential to the success of this program. It takes many hands to wrap hundreds of gifts and prepare them for distribution, all within a short time frame. We work with youth groups from Scouts, Job’s Daughters, 4-H, Interact and Friday-Nite Live from Del Norte High School, 8th-graders from Crescent Elk Middle School, the Bar-O Boys Ranch, and other youths and adults from throughout the county, to make the event happen. We will be taking applications now through Nov. 20 (with the exception of Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11), from 10 a.m.-noon and 2-5 p.m. at our new location at 555 H St.; also on Nov. 3 at the Smith River Elementary School from 8-11 a.m. and from 6-8 p.m. at the Smith River School gym; and on Nov. 4 from 1-4 p.m. at Margaret Keating Elementary School. Parents applying for the program will need to bring a “Passport to Services” from Social Services or proof of family income, as well as valid California identification. For each child applicant, parents must bring the child’s birth certificate and Social Security card. Parents will also need to provide their child’s interests and clothing sizes. For more information call Head Elf, Ron Phillips, at Rural Human Services at 464-7441 ext. 259. |
