It takes a lot of helpers to gather, wrap and distribute Christmas gifts to those in need, and once again a team of volunteers is taking on the task. (L-R, front) Paige and Taylor Everson. (L-R, back) Anna Sandstrom, Andrea Everson, and MaeAnna LaFavor will be part of Operation Family Christmas.
Imagine being a child and having no Christmas presents to open on Christmas morning, then coming back to school to see what your friends received.
Worse, imagine being a parent who has no way of purchasing Christmas presents for your children, and nothing to put under a tree, if you have a tree.
Not a pleasant thought, right?
But that doesn’t have to happen—and shouldn’t happen—in a small community like Cook County, said Andrea Everson, who is one of the leaders of Operation Family Christmas.
In just its second year, Operation Family Christmas will distribute collection boxes on Friday, November 22 to Mike’s Holiday, Johnson’s Grocery Store, Java Moose, Buck’s Hardware, Joynes Ben Franklin, Grand Marais SuperAmerica and the Cook County Community Center. There will also be a collection box at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, local headquarters for Operation Family Christmas.
“We would like donations of new, unwrapped gifts for kids up to 18 years old,” said Everson.
“If someone wants to send in a check, I will send them back a receipt. If someone wants to purchase a gift card, I will also send him or her back a receipt. It might be easier to give older kids a gift card. They can be harder to shop for.
“This is all confidential. No one knows who is getting presents. Parents (or legal guardians) can pick up applications at the Cook County Law Enforcement Center or at the Violence Prevention Center or through Anna Sandstrom at the school,” Everson said.
“In a case of divorce, we want both the mother and the father to be able to pick up an application. We don’t want to see one parent giving a present and one parent not being able to give a present,” Everson said.
The boxes will be collected on December 16 and gifts distributed on December 21. Last year, said Everson, there was a surplus of gifts and if that happens again those presents can be picked up at the Cook County Food Shelf on December 22 and 23.
Last year 46 kids from the west end to the east end of the county received presents they would not have gotten if not for people donating to Operation Family Christmas.
“We don’t want any kids left out. We’re organized better this year. We have had more time for planning,” Everson said, adding, “We don’t want anyone to be forgotten.”
If you would rather not donate a toy, checks or gift cards can be sent to Andrea Everson at P.O. Box 1260, Grand Marais, MN 55604.
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