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Organization looking for assistance to help those in need
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS
S-E Staff Reporter
When asked how long Op¬eration Santa has been around, founder Judy Davis looks up at the ceiling of the Union Hall in Kettle Falls, the wheels in her head turning briskly. Then she shrugs and smiles.
“We stopped counting after 25 years,” she laughed. “I think it’s at least over 27 years now though.”
Davis is the advocate for Op¬eration Santa (OS), collect¬ing new and gently used items year round in preparation for December, when she and a handful of OS volunteers in¬habit the Union Hall on Mey¬ers Street. There they distrib¬ute Christmas gifts to those who are unable to celebrate the holidays without some help from their community.
According to Davis, OS served over 700 people in the area last year, not counting people who came in strictly for clothes or household items.
“We opened on Dec. 3 this year and on that day we had about 75 people come in for clothes,” said Davis.
Operation Santa runs every day until Christmas day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pick up times for gifts and/or packages for individuals and families is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Some much-needed items for this year’s gifts from OS include presents for teenag¬ers, toys for children six months to three-years-old and clothes for boys eight to 12-years-old.
Helping community members get by and have a Christmas
When it comes to donations, all that Davis asks is that any donated toys and appliances work and items are cleaned prior to contributing.
“Nothing goes to waste here,” said Davis. “We try to make sure everybody who comes in gets a nice gift, be¬sides just the necessities.”
Operation Santa also col¬laborates with the Northport, Kettle Falls and Colville Food Banks in an effort so the or¬ganizations to help each other and the community during a time of year when need often exceeds supply.
But just because OS cooper¬ates with other organizations doesn’t mean that it repre¬sents any of them, or vise versa.
“People often get us con¬fused with the Tree of Sharing or Toy for Tots,” stated Davis. “People get confused about that sometimes. We some¬times work with those chari¬ties, but we’re not the same thing. They don’t constantly supply us with a steady stream of gifts, and we don’t do that for them.”
This year, people who come to OS are asked to fill out a form with their names and how many children they have ,along with their first names. The person should also bring proof of their physical address or P.O. box.
“This way, we can put the children’s names on the gift tags of each present and it allows us to keep track of the number of people we service,” Davis explained.
Beyond that single sheet of information, there is no red tape of long waits in line. Though it’s not required, Davis said that sometimes people who come in bring food stamps or Medicaid cards to prove that they’re not just looking for an easy way to nab Christmas presents.
“Most of the people who come in here do it because their families need it, or they need it, just to get by. We had one lady come in last year who didn’t want anything else besides a few canned goods for her, some dog food for the dog, and some shampoo to wash her hair,” Davis recalled.
This year, OS is looking for interested persons to volun¬teer their time at the Union Hall, sorting and folding clothes as well as sorting other donated items.
“Anyone who has some time to spare would be very much appreciated,” said Davis. “One thing that always warms my heart is the way people help OS in the community. Kids, adults, businesses, individu¬als---it just reminds you of why we live here.”
Operation Santa serves Colville, Kettle Falls, North¬port and the outlying areas.
For more information on OS or to donate/volunteer, call 738-2467 or go the Union Hall on Meyers Street in Kettle Falls. Donations can be dropped off at the Union Hall from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or mailed to P.O. Box 313 Kettle Falls, WA. 99141.
Volunteer Cliff Dehle and Judy Davis set up the toy table at Operation Santa.
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