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Christmas Baskets
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If you’ve been paying attention, and I hope you have, you know that our local Christmas Basket program requires that work be done year ‘round. It seems like just yesterday, although it was really last July, that a call came about a trailer-load of food that needed to be picked up in Sacramento and unloaded in one of the volunteer’s offices for storage until December. Although throughout the year there are board meetings and occasional purchases of food on sale, the lion’s share of the work begins right after Thanksgiving. This year was no exception; no sooner had the turkey been cleared from the table then activity kicked into high gear.
For a few weekends we park our “sleigh” in front of local grocery stores and then ask shoppers to donate a non-perishable food item to help fill it up.
Boy Scouts helping out (they did a wonderful job explaining the program and politely asking for donations of non-perishable food items).
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The inside of the sleigh fills up nicely.
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There were a few elves who kept items sorted, which was helpful when the collected food arrived at the fairgrounds to be unloaded and stacked in preparation for going into the boxes for the families in need.
Red barrels are place at businesses town for donations of toys and food. Volunteers empty those barrels on a regular basis and haul the spoils to the armory building at our local fairground, where another group of volunteers do the sorting.
The armory building at the fairgrounds starts out being empty, except for stacks of banana boxes and the tables where the sorting of food takes place.
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all important banana boxes
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This probably just looks like a stack of boxes to you, but it is a very carefully organized stack of boxes. There are 40 boxes for families of 1, 120 (plus or minus) boxes for families of 2, and so on, all the way up to families of 10 (the largest family we had this year). Families of 3 and on up require 2 boxes each, one for canned goods and one for dry goods. Families of 8 and up require even more boxes. The Box Guys have all of this figured out; this “stack of boxes” is arranged so that when we start to fill up the boxes it will all work out perfectly.
Elsewhere inside the armory building, donated and goods purchased with donated funds arrived constantly.
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donations waiting to be sorted
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They go to the center of the sorting area, where more volunteers dig in to bags and boxes to start putting everything in its place.
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chaos on the left sorted into order on the right
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Butterfly helped out on days she wasn’t otherwise booked with her busy schedule of regular activities. Can you tell it was COLD in the Armory building??!!
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the stacks of food grow larger ...
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On some days I was asked to go to stores in the area with Dusty, our truck (yes, I name our trucks … get over it), to pick up purchased food. The organization has figured out over the 25+ years it has been doing this what needs to be purchased to supply needed items that don’t get donated. Some of those things are staples like flour and sugar.
It took two trucks to pick up the flour and sugar at the two stores that were, conveniently, located next to each other.
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the other truck gets the bulk of the sugar
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then it was Dusty's turn, who already had lots of sugar on board
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both trucks backed in to the Armory building
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I cleverly "allowed" some guys to unload
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After two weeks of fetching, carrying, and sorting, we had most of what we were going to get to fill our boxes. The fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, and ham arrived the day before the distribution. We would normally include a turkey, also, but there weren’t enough funds this year.
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how much more is there to sort, we ask
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And lest you think this is all about food, there are toys for all the good little boys and girls (and even not-so-good rascals). But we’ll get to that later! Right now it’s time to start the production line of filling the boxes.
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let the assembly line begin
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Half of us get on one side of the table, with the food stocked on the table, ready to fill boxes as they go by. The other half of the volunteers are on the opposite side of the table, pushing boxes by us, making sure their boxes are getting all the items they are supposed to get. Quantities change as family size increases.
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pause in the action - time to restock
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I was at the corn, green bean, mixed vegetable station. There was a pause in the action while we restocked our supplies, so I had a breather to take a few pictures.
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getting ready to start up the line again
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Families of 1 get just one box with everything in it (all the canned goods, dry goods, etc.).
Here are the boxes for families of 1 set out on the floor. Trust me; they get a lot fuller before this adventure is over!
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Now the Box Guys have started setting out boxes for families of 2.
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well on our way by lunchtime
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As you can see, we got quite a bit done before we took a lunch break. We were all tired and sore from bending, lifting and pushing heavy boxes.
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The sea of boxes continues to grow
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Once we have filled the boxes and put them out on the floor, there are always leftover items along the wall. Those have to be carried by hand and distributed to the boxes on the floor – another back-breaking job. We do our best to keep track of which families got what, so we know how best to distribute the leftovers.
An inventory control system would be a spectacular addition to this process, but, since most of our goods are donated, it would be pretty difficult to implement, if we even had one. Considering our ever-changing cast of characters made up of volunteers – it might do us more harm than good.
Somehow we make it all work out in the end.
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This is what all of us see at night as we are going to sleep.
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The Friday before distribution day is Fresh Produce Day. The produce we buy arrives first thing in the morning.
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The local Lions Club donates potatoes (5# bags)
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Yet another assembly line is put into place to bag the produce (oranges, apples, celery, carrots, and onions).
Didn’t I tell you those boxes for families of 1 would overflow before this process was over?!
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the sea of boxes begins to "froth"
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By lunchtime all of the boxes have been filled with the fresh produce and potatoes.
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The handmade cradles each have a handmade quilt
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Bags of toys are sorted by age and gender
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Santa obviously took care of these kids a little early.
After a week of cold, wet weather, Saturday’s distribution day dawned crisp and clear. The agreeable weather would make everything go much more smoothly. The last thing we needed was for people waiting in long lines to be wet, cold and miserable.
I had been told that volunteers appeared at the fairgrounds in droves and I knew I would not be needed, so I just showed up to take a few pictures and stay out of the way. It was also fun to finally see the results of weeks of hard work.
I arrived just as the first cars of recipients were allowed to enter the fairgrounds and start the process of handing out the Christmas Baskets.
There were cheerful faces wherever I looked.
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the whole family was involved
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This family was taking hot chocolate and cookies to the people waiting in the cars to make the time go faster and spread a little Christmas cheer.
Inside the armory building, there was a bustle of activity.
It was all very carefully orchestrated, with people greeted as they came in the door and assigned an “angel” who walked them through the process of claiming their food basket and toys.
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Here the boxes for one large family get loaded up to be hauled to their car.
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Here you see one happy mom collecting toys to give to her children.
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fireman give away bicycle helmets
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This is the first tricycle going out the door, but first Mom must stop at the firemen who are giving helmets to all the lucky bike recipients. “Boy or girl?” they ask, to make sure they give the right color.
There were kids’ coats and shoes, free for the taking, once families got their food and toys.
Barrel Guy aka Board Member aka All Around Good Guy dressed especially for the occasion, even down to the detail of flashing lights in his moustache.
The Christmas Basket Program helped 600 families this year, up from 520 families last year. We thought we wouldn’t be able to do it this year, given the economy’s troubles, but once again the local community stepped up to the plate and provided for their neighbors in need. I can’t thank them enough.
May your holidays be joyous, and your 2009 marked by happiness and good health.
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