Community Christmas benefits less fortunate
Staff writer
For more than three decades, Marion Community Christmas has been helping families in need during the holidays.
Organizer Margo Yates, who has put on the program for 33 years, and others gave out food and gifts Thursday to 44 families. About another two dozen received food without gifts.
Yates previewed the gifts a day before the giveaway at the Marion Community Center. “Some people need gifts, and some people need food,” Yates said.
Toys were placed inside a black bag to prevent kids from seeing what they will get for Christmas.
Organizers will give parents paper and tape.
“It makes a nice Christmas for everyone,” she said.
Anonymous donors provided money to the organization and said how and where to use it.
Yates said it did not matter whether donations were gifts or money.
“People like to give, and the program to do this is a lot of work,” she said.
At Thursday’s event, there was an angel tree. Bicycles and toys were provided by the county’s toy run.
Families in need had to apply with the city. A few more were known to need assistance, but did not apply because they don’t want to receive charity, she said.
Also, she said, elderly people did not have the ability to travel to city hall to apply.
When families applied, they were asked for the gender and clothes sizes for their children.
Yates and other organizers encourage hesitant families to accept food and gifts.
“We tell them that we enjoy doing this,” she said. “Help us by accepting this. It’s for your family.”
When Marion Community Christmas started, small gifts were given to parents.
“We don’t do much of that anymore,” she said. “Some people have a hard time asking for help.”
Some of the gifts were things children need, including hats, gloves, and other winter clothes.
For those who did not make it to the community room between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m., Thursday city staff delivered food.
Yates said the $250 in food handed out was not just for a Christmas meal, though those food items were included.
“Over the years, we have seen some empty cupboards,” she said.
Marion Community Christmas has seven to eight people who help put it on every year.
“Everyone came together to make it happen,” she said. “It takes a lot of people.”