Late leader’s legacy lives on

For years, Donna Hanson was synonymous with the Christmas Bureau. When the longtime executive director of Catholic Charities died in September 2005, she left a legacy of compassion for poor people, says Rob McCann, who stepped in as executive director when Hanson became ill.

“Her legacy is the Christmas Bureau,” McCann said. “Her mantra was that people who come to the bureau won’t remember the gift they got, but they will remember how they were treated. They’ll remember the smile and the compassion.”

Hanson championed the bureau and its simplicity. The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund solicits donations and the money raised is used to pay for toys and food vouchers given out at the bureau to help make Christmas a little brighter for the area’s needy people.

Catholic Charities devotes two full-time staffers nearly year-round to the bureau and organizes the 200 volunteers who do everything from ordering the 16,000 toys to handing out bags of candy to poor people when they leave the bureau. Catholic Charities also provides translators as needed, most recently two to work with recent immigrants from Russia and other countries that were part of the former Soviet Union. Catholic Charities partners with Volunteers of America to run of the bureau.

“For six years, I got the best mentoring you could ever want from Donna,” said McCann. “She taught us that we can all do good work.”

McCann will spend many hours at the Christmas Bureau, which opens Dec. 8 at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center. Like his mentor, McCann also has a large organization to oversee at a busy time of year. Catholic Charities is in the midst of its own fundraising drive, which has a goal of $750,000. And because much of Catholic Charities’ work involves homeless and poor people, winter is the busiest season.

The House of Charity, which provides shelter for about 100 men a night, and St. Margaret’s, which offers shelter for 18 women and their children, are among the 15 programs run by Catholic Charities. The nonprofit agency employs 220 people, has 4,000 volunteers, a $12 million budget and serves 50,000 people a year.

That 50,000 doesn’t include the more than 30,000 poor people who get the fixings of Christmas at the bureau each year, nor is the $485,000 donated to the Christmas Fund included in Catholic Charities’ budget.

Donations to the fund go directly toward paying for the new toys, and to reimburse the grocery stores that honor the food vouchers distributed at the bureau.

Donations of all amounts are welcome. Recent donations of $3,650 bumped the fund to more than $41,700.

Following are the donations and their donors:

Moloney, O’Neill, Corkery & Jones, Inc., of Spokane, sent $3,000 and a note: “The nearly 100 employees at Moloney O’Neill appreciate and applaud your efforts to help make Christmas brighter for so many of our Inland Northwest neighbors,” wrote firm president John Moloney. “It has been exciting to see how the residents and businesses get behind this great cause to help those in need. We hope you break through your goal for 2007 and are honored to help.

“Merry Christmas and thanks to all the volunteers who give their time, energy, and efforts to make the Christmas Fund a reality.”

Jerry and Jill Wilson and family, of Spokane, donated $200. “This gift represents a tradition of giving to a charity that enables local families to have a festive and merry holiday,” the Wilsons wrote.

John and Charlotte Sullivan, of Spokane, sent $100 in memory of Charles and Opal McCoy.

Annette Kuntz, of Spokane, donated $100, as did Gene Hubbell, also of Spokane, and an anonymous donor, of Spokane Valley.

Carol Wilson and the Wilson Family Living Trust, of Spokane Valley, donated $50.