Newcomer volunteers add energy
Some of the most enthusiastic volunteers at the Christmas Bureau are relative newcomers to the annual holiday charity, which gives the fixings for a brighter holiday to the area’s poor families. It opens Dec. 7.
“This charity – the bureau and the Christmas Fund – are just pure generosity,” said Hal Ellis, a retired computer systems designer. He moved to Spokane in 2001 and has been volunteering at the bureau every December since.
“What I saw when I first came was generosity on the part of the 200 volunteers who run the bureau, on the part of The Spokesman-Review for facilitating everything, and on the part of the community that contributed,” Ellis says.
Donations of $2,458.34 have boosted the Christmas Fund to $8,975.75. The goal is to raise $485,000, which pays for the toys, candy and food vouchers distributed at the bureau to the area’s needy people.
This year 307 people will work the 900 shifts required to operate the bureau, according to volunteer coordinator Scooter Mahoney. Of those, 95 percent have worked at this holiday charity before.
“I don’t know how many, but a number of volunteers have worked there for several decades,” said Mahoney. “If they don’t volunteer one year, it’s because they have had a hip replacement or are on jury duty or something. But they always send a note and say, ‘Don’t give my slot away, I will be back next year.’ “
Ellis said he “came from a big-city environment,” having lived in New York and Los Angeles and traveled extensively.
“When I came to Spokane, I met Mick Soss at Temple Beth Shalom and he asked if I wanted to get involved in the Christmas Bureau,” Ellis recalled. “He and I both work on the computers there. We’re both Jews and we are working at the Christmas Bureau. It’s a name but it really doesn’t matter where you came from or your background, everyone is treated equally.”
Ellis added that he “had never seen an effort that is as community-based.
“When I moved here I thought, ‘Here is an effort that is totally volunteer, where the newspaper took the lead and with the generosity of the community everything went back to the recipients in the community,’ ” he said.
The Spokesman-Review started the Christmas Fund more than 60 years ago to raise money to help a World War II veteran. It has grown to the point that it now provides a holiday dinner, new toys, children’s books and a bag of Christmas candy to more than 10,000 needy families.
Nationwide, many newspapers ask their readers to donate to similar charitable efforts during the holidays. The Seattle Times, for example, has sponsored a Fund for the Needy in December since 1979.
The Portland Oregonian’s Season of Sharing effort is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Last year, the Oregonian raised nearly $242,700 for the poor in Portland and nearby Vancouver, Wash.
But the aspect that distinguishes the Christmas Fund and Bureau from similar charities is that all of the needy people who show up at the bureau at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center are served. The Seattle Times gives the money it raises to local nonprofit agencies to aid their holiday efforts. The Oregonian’s fund helps individuals who have been nominated by social service agencies and publishes their stories in the newspaper.
“One of the things that struck me about the Christmas Bureau is the spirit of generosity. It is giving without any bias to whoever comes in the door,” Ellis says. “It is purely an institution of giving.”
Donations of all amounts are welcome. The donors and the amount of their donations will be reported in daily stories in The Spokesman-Review. Donors who wish to remain anonymous should indicate their wishes on their donation checks or in a note.
Following are the donors and their donations:
The Spokesman-Review Editorial Department donated $1,958.34, the proceeds from their employee “freebie” sale last winter.
Terry and Kathryn Deno, of Spokane, donated $500.