Posted on November 12th, 2012
Organizers for the 2012 Santa House, a resource for local parents in need who are unable to purchase Christmas gifts for their children, expect another busy season this year. Each year since 2006, dozens of enthusiastic, generous and energetic volunteers gather and organize donated gifts, set up for each day, and help visitors when the Santa House is open. This year, the Santa House will be open from noon to 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sun. and Mon.), starting December 4 and continuing through December 22. It?s located at 9518 W. 58th Avenue, in the Arvada Plaza shopping center just west of Ace Hardware.
If last year was any indication, the volunteer team will hit the ground running for year seven. In 2011, 220 adults came to the Santa House and chose gifts for 700 children ? just in the first two days. So if you?d like to donate, items can be dropped off at the Santa House starting Tuesday, November 27. You can also take items to the following Apex PRD facilities: the Apex Center, 13150 W. 72nd Ave., the Community Recreation Center, 6842 Wadsworth Blvd., the Racquetball and Fitness Center, 12120 W. 64th Ave., and the Apex Field House, 5724 Oak St., during regular hours of operation.
In 2006, Duane and Bill Johnson came up with the idea for the Santa House. As director for the Arvada Community Food Bank, Duane interacted daily with clients and had a better sense than most of the unmet needs of families and children. As active community volunteers, Duane and Bill had the ability, experience and desire to recruit the volunteers and donations needed for such a significant project.
?A lot of food bank clients asked where they could go to get gifts,? Duane said?and the idea was born.
Bringing the Santa House to fruition took a lot of teamwork. Duane, Bill and members of the Arvada-Wheat Ridge Service Ambassadors for Youth (AWRSAY) took on the job of finding a home for the Santa House, gathering donations, stocking/organizing, and helping Santa House visitors.
AWRSAY is a non-profit consisting of nearly 20 Arvada & Wheat Ridge service organizations and Red Rocks Community College. Their task is to help youth who have overcome adversity to achieve their potential through recognition, education and opportunities in the form of scholarships to Red Rocks. They also participate in other community service projects such as the Santa House.
In the first two years, Arvada Community Food bank clients were referred to the Santa House, which served 2100 children and 635 families in 2006, and 3200 in 2007. After that, said Duane, the organizers had to find a way to hone in their focus on local families in need. They began working with economically challenged Arvada and Wheat Ridge elementary schools and enlisted the schools? help in identifying needy families and children. Fifteen schools are in the program this year: Allendale, Arvada K-8, Campbell, Fitzmorris, Foster, Fremont, Kullerstrand, Lawrence, Parr, Peck, Pennington, Secrest, Swanson, Thomson, and Vanderhoof,
?We have a good sense of what the need will be, based on the food bank?s activity,? Duane said. ?In summer 2012, for example, they had a 30% increase in client numbers compared to summer 2011. All the schools on the list have growing percentages of children eligible for the free/reduced lunch program, a commonly used measure of an economically challenged population. ?We?ve recently heard numbers as high as 85% of the school enrollment,? Duane said.
AWRSAY appreciates the continuing generosity of the Santa House property owners, Quadrelle Realty. ?They let us use the space from about mid-November until Christmas, along with donating heat, lights and hot water,? Duane said.
Duane and event co-organizer Joel Folk, a retired Arvada veterinarian, work together to prepare, organize and manage the project. Once the Santa House is up and running, dozens more volunteers keep it all going smoothly. Volunteer coordinator Lila Nigh puts together a roster of folks who work 2-hour shifts before, during and after each day the house is open. This includes volunteers to take each client through the rooms one-on-one, showing them the items and discussing the guidelines, to ensure a happy and successful shopping experience. In recent years, they also enlisted the support of volunteer interpreters who speak Spanish.
Over the past six years, the Santa House has thrived, thanks to enthusiastic and generous community participation. For example, Apex Park and Recreation District staff members have volunteered at the Santa House for multiple years, and since 2008, the district has served as a collection point for donations. Visit apexprd.org for information on the 2012 Santa House season. To donate or to get involved, contact Duane Youse, 303-424-2365. To learn more about AWRSAY, visit www.rrcc.edu/awrsay.
Post expires on December 22nd, 2012
Source: http://apexprd.org/santa-house-prepares-busy-2012
samoyed kenny powers kenny powers carl hagelin triple play virginia tech shooting james neal
No comments:
Post a Comment