Keizer volunteers deliver gift baskets to 207 families

The sounds of tape dispensers and wrapping paper filled the room at Lakepoint Community Church on Wednesday, Dec. 17, as volunteers put together holiday gift baskets for local families. The annual program involves delivering baskets to those in need, based on a list of families provided by local school counselors.

Volunteers had already crowded the room when wrapping began around 4:30, and organizer Marsha Stallings expected more to trickle in as the evening wore on.

Chatter could be heard as groups of volunteers, some dressed for the holidays with sweaters or Santa hats, huddled around tables to wrap presents.

Once a family’s presents were wrapped, they were placed in a box and added to lines of boxes along the walls.

This year, Stallings said baskets with clothing, Legos, dolls and more will be delivered to 207 families.

The baskets were delivered by volunteers on Saturday, Dec. 20. Each family will also receive a makings for a holiday meal, with food such as ham, potatoes and vegetables. Stallings said the Keizer Elks Lodge is responsible for gathering and delivering the food to families.

Stallings said school counselors determine which families are in need, and ask students for a need and a want.

Program organizers raise money to buy gifts through the Keizer Network of Women’s annual Percey Auction. Additionally, each year Christmas trees placed in local organizations and businesses are decorated with tags listing the desires of the families.

Donors take tags off the tree to buy the gift for the program. Stallings said organizers are grateful to community members for their contributions.“There’s a lot of need right now,” Stallings said.

Cheda and Steve Manners, dressed in festive attire, wrap a present to donate to a local family on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

Fluffy socks, a blanket and a hat were among the gifts being prepared for a local family during a gift wrapping event on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

Liane Smith, one of the volunteers who helped organize the gift basket program, arranges boxes full of presents during the gift wrapping event on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Each box will be delivered to a local family. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

From left to right, Lindsey Hedden, Liane Smith, Marsha Stallings and Rachel Whetten pose for a photo during the gift wrapping event on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Each is a volunteer who helped organize this year’s gift basket program, which will deliver presents to those in need. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

Tables were filled with volunteers during the gift wrapping event at Lakepoint Community Church on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

Jennifer Bronson cuts wrapping paper to the proper size during the gift wrapping event on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

Kira Hayes, a part of the American Heritage Girls group with the Salem First Baptist Church, helps wraps gifts during the event on Wednesday, Dec. 17. (KRISTA KROISS/Keizertimes)

NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].

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