ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com On Christmas morning, the smiles of 315 Barry County children stand to be a bit brighter, all thanks to local businesses, individuals and volunteers who support Share Your Christmas.
A service of the Ozark Area Community Action Corporation’s (OACAC) Barry County Neighborhood Center, Share Your Christmas provides gifts directly to families in need, for a variety of reasons, that may not have a gift budget otherwise.
Carrie Beck, family resource specialist and Share Your Christmas board member, said this year 315 children in 100 families benefitted from the program, which unlike other OACAC offerings, is not contingent on income.
“We helped 110 families this year, with 26 of those adopted by local businesses,” Beck said. “They come to us with an idea of what type of. family they’d like to sponsor, and we find the family that fits. The businesses then go buy the gifts from the wish lists we give them, which include a top three gift desires and a list of other interests. Businesses who adopt our families tend to go above and beyond.”
For families not adopted, OACAC purchases their gifts and distributes with plenty of time for Santa to work his magic.
“Families come in to sign up, and we do a basic intake with their financial information to see if they qualify for any of our other programs, then we put them in Share Your Christmas,” Beck said. “Sign-ups were Oct. 28 to Nov. 15, and we distributed gifts to the non-adopted families on Dec. 11. We are still distributing to families who were adopted.”
While the gifts are the big ticket, Beck said Share your Christmas goes beyond just giving wants by also providing needs.
“The Dollar Tree does a toy drive for stocking stuffers, and Walmart supplied all the wrapping paper needed,” Beck said. “First Baptist Church also makes up 100-plus baskets of household items and toiletries, so each family also gets that.
“Many businesses and churches also do Angel tress, where we write the child’s gender, age and gift idea on an ornament, then people can come take the ornaments and go buy that gift for that child. We also have volunteers from the United Methodist Church who do the remainder of our shopping.”
Beck said every one of the 100 families who sign up for Share Your Christmas have unique stories, with some in tough financial situations from a job loss or vehicle wreck, for example.
“There are so many stories,” Beck said. “The biggest family we had, about 20 people total, the Cassville Dispensary adopted them. That was truly amazing to watch because they raised about $1,500 to give this family a great Christmas.”
Distribution day, Beck said, can also be an emotional experience.
“It’s fabulous to get to give to our local families like this,” she said. “A lot of them break down and cry when they learn they’ve been adopted, because it’s a big worry. It’s one thing to worry about bills all the time, and when it comes to Christmas, kids don’t understand bills. They just know if Santa came or not.”
Because of the direct impact it has on families, Beck said Share Your Christmas is the OACAC staff’s favorite program.
“Share Your Christmas is the best part of what we do — to see families taken care of,” she said. “We want to give a big thank you to all the people and pieces who bring this together. We can’t do it without you.”
