By MIKE FLETCHER
Bags of clothes, grocery items, games, trinkets — you name it, they had it — lined the second floor of the Masonic Temple this week as volunteers hustled around getting ready for the Christmas Gift Lift.
Put on by the Mental Health Association, the event provides Christmas to those living at convalescent centers, Bona Vista, Howard Regional Health System and St.Joseph Hospital group homes, Howard County residents of the Logansport State Hospital, Howard Haven Residential Center and others who wouldn’t otherwise have much to celebrate during the holidays.
“The object is to help people with mental illnesses who are often forgotten during Christmas,” MHA Executive Director Jill Snyder said.
Last year, the program distributed more than 700 bags of gifts as part of its Christmas Gift Lift program. For the 2009 campaign, volunteers had 213 bags wrapped and ready to go as of Wednesday.
“In this bad economic time, we want to make sure everybody gets what they ask for and make their Christmas as nice as possible,” Snyder said.
Some of the people receiving aid have lifelong illnesses while others have been hit hard by the economic downturn and can’t afford a Christmas.
“We get a lot of support out there,” Snyder said of community donations. “If we don’t all work together, this never would happen.”
The MHA continues to accept donations, she added. The organization still needs sweats for men and women sizes large to 3X, shampoo, coloring books, nail clippers, sugar-free candy, calculators and other household items.
“We also try to personalize our bags,” she said. “If someone asks for that something special, we try to get that for them.”
That’s what makes it special for Ronda Eldridge, a Wal-Mart worker who volunteers every year to help the MHA.
“We had a man who just wanted a picture of himself so he could send to his wife and daughter,” she said. “That’s why we do it.”
Eldridge and the volunteers have also helped other charities by donating $2,000 for the Cancer Association during Relay for Life and $1,000 for the Howard County Vietnam Veterans Organization.
“If we volunteer so many hours then we can give them a $1,000 grant,” she said as she wrapped presents.
“This is our third night, we have 12 more hours.”
Sitting at a table nearby, Rick Dillman, a retired Chrysler worker, helped put names on the bags.
“It’s a good feeling to be able to help out people,” he said.
The wrapping continues this week with the help from the Maple Crest School student council, who donated candy bags for the MHA Social Club clients.
The items will be distributed to each organization the second week of December, said Snyder, adding the group still needs help to make this Christmas season a happy one for those with mental illnesses.
“We want to be able to provide enough so everybody has a meal on the table and gifts under the tree,” she said.
• Mike Fletcher is the Kokomo Tribune crime reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8565 or mike.fletcher@kokomotribune.com.
You can help:
Donations for this year’s Gift Lift can be dropped off at 507 N. Webster St. Anyone wishing to donate should call 765-459-0309 before dropping off any items.
