A ribbon is tied onto a present being wrapped at the Keizer Lions Club on Dec. 7. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes) 
Volunteers wrap gifts at the Keizer Lions Club on Dec. 7. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes) 
Boxes of food sit on the floor of the Keizer Lions Club as volunteers prepare to load vehicles for food and present drop off on Dec. 10. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes) 
Volunteers load boxes onto the Gracie’s Sweets and Treats truck for the food and present drop off on Dec. 9. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes) 
Cars line up at the Keizer Lions Club to pick up gift and food boxes to deliver to families in need on Dec. 10. (JOSHUA MANES/Keizertimes)
Community members from Keizer and the surrounding areas came together last week to help families in need this holiday season.
Gift and food donations were accepted, and volunteers came together to prepare the shipments.
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, volunteers gathered at the Keizer Lions Club to wrap gifts.
Then, on Saturday, Dec. 10, they again came to the Lions Club to load the boxes of gifts and food into cars for deliveries. Most volunteers made five or six trips to pick up and drop off boxes.
In total, 245 boxes filled with gifts were distributed, as well as 277 boxes of food containing a total of 8,100 pieces.
On top of the gift and food boxes, an additional 25 gift baskets filled with household goods donated by Tammy Ready and Imagine What We Can Do were handed out.
The Giving Baskets program is an annual project from the Keizer Network of Women.