“The first couple of years there were less than 100 (applications), but it’s increased to 550 a year,” Daugherty said. “My guess is we’ve helped more than 7,000 people.”
The majority of the calls for help, an estimated 40-45 percent, come from single parent families.
“We also have a fairly good proportion of them, maybe 10 to 15 percent, maybe as high as 20 percent, that are single folks or couples that at least one is a senior or disabled,” Daugherty said.
The requests are not for flashy, big dollar items. Instead, they are for things more basic.
“It’s food. Really and truly. The majority of them want food,” Daugherty said, adding that even when children are involved, the wish list is still focused on necessities. “They need school clothes — pants, new shoes, maybe a backpack for school supplies. There’s a little of that ‘gee, I wish I had a..,’ whatever the big toy is at the moment, but there’s not a lot of that. People are asking for the basics.”
A spaghetti feed on Dec. 12 helps raise finances needed to meet the requests, and Gale Dixon is the coordinator for this year’s event. Volunteers are still needed Dec. 10 and 11 to help prepare for the meal, as well as help with the meal Dec. 12. Assistance is needed to wrap gifts Dec. 13, 17 and 18.
“There won’t be a lot of stuff to wrap yet,” Daugherty said of the Dec. 13 date. “I’m encouraging people that want to help wrap to come to the high school between noon and 4 p.m. Dec. 17.”
Deadline to submit an application for a food and gift basket is Dec. 8. Deadline for a food basket application is Dec. 13. For more information or to volunteer, call Share the Spirit at 235-7466.
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