Christmas Bureau opens to help region’s needy

Christmas Bureau organizers expect hundreds of needy people to be lined up outside the Agricultural Building at the fairgrounds when the charity opens at 10 a.m. today. The bureau distributes the fixings of Christmas to more than 9,000 needy families each year.

This year, thanks to a couple of relatively new volunteers, the bureau is all decked out in festive red and white curtains. Clint Branz and Cheryl Custer Branz first volunteered two years ago at the bureau, after reading about the need for volunteers in The Spokesman-Review.

They took one look at the toy rooms made from PVC pipes and tarps, held in place with sandbags, and said, “We can help out with this,” said Cheryl Branz. She and her husband co-own Custer Enterprises with her parents, Jim and Jennifer Custer. They’re in the business of consumer show promotion. “We saw that what they were doing to set up the bureau was so labor-intensive. We thought we could streamline the setup and help make it more festive,” she said.

They called Ken Quimby, the owner of Lilac City Decorators, who works with them in staging the Custer shows at the fairgrounds and asked him to take a look at the bureau. “As soon as Ken saw what was here, he said there’s a need here and I want to help, I want my company to be involved,” Branz said.

The two business owners got together. “We said, ‘what if we did it better and it didn’t cost anything?’ ” Branz said. This year the toy rooms are created from pipes and red and white drapes. Branz said Quimby offered to set up the bureau and pay 60 percent of his normal fee, with Custer Enterprises paying the rest of his fee. Branz said they want all of the money raised to go to the people who need it.

The money is raised by The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund. Donations of $12,758.25 boosted the Christmas Fund to $76,061.10. The goal is $485,000, so many more donations are needed. Donations of all amounts are welcome.

It took the Branzes and Quimby and his crew about two hours to set up the partitions on Monday. “It couldn’t have been more fun,” says Branz.

“It really took some of the complications out of the system,” says Clint Branz.

The bureau will be open weekdays through Dec. 21. Each year, the bureau helps about 30,000 of the area’s poor have a brighter Christmas.

Following are the donors and their donations:

Max J. Kuney Company, of Spokane, donated $1,000, as did an anonymous donor, also of Spokane. A $1,000 donation was also sent by Bailey and Benson on Rockwood Boulevard.

Ronald and Shirley Schoenberger, of Liberty Lake, sent $600 and a note: “Nineteen years ago we made our first contribution to the Christmas Fund. Our original contribution was small, but within the range we were comfortable with. With our first contribution we made a commitment to increase our yearly contribution by 10 percent each year. Because of all of the disasters, and the contributions being sent to areas outside of our area, we are sure some of our neighbors are going to have to dig deep into their pockets this year to make contributions to this very worthwhile fund. Let’s not wait until the last minute to make a contribution.”

John and Janet Peterson, of Spokane, donated $500. Louis Franks, of Spokane Valley, donated $500 in memory of his wife, Vita M. Franks, and their dearest friends, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Burnside.

The Association of Retired Avista Employees, of Spokane, donated $498.

The Auxiliary of the Sadir Kahn Grotto, of Spokane, donated $300, as did Judy Laddon, and Amelia Kramme, both of Spokane. Mac and Judy Hudson, of Spokane, sent $300 and a note: “This fund really signals the start of the Christmas season. Thanks for providing the opportunity to make the season a little brighter for everyone.”

Jerome Keller, of Spokane, sent $250, as did Cecil Nuxoll, also of Spokane.

Gary and Sharon Randall, of Colbert, donated $225 in honor of their parents, Lester and Clare Randall and Press and Margaret Cleveland.

Bonnie and Oscar Nelson, of Spokane, gave $200, as did Orval and Anita Janssen, of Spokane, an anonymous donor, of Cheney; and Donald and Mary Westerman, and an anonymous donor, all of Spokane.

Ken and Joann Dunlap, of Spokane, gave $200 in memory of Grampa Joe.

Anonymous donors, of Spokane, sent $200 in memory of Ollen and Rose Marie Roach, “who always provided a memorable Christmas for their children.”

Tom and Marcia O’Leary, of Spokane, donated $150, as did Helen Bell, also of Spokane.

Kenneth and Lynda Ensign, of Clayton, Wash., donated $100, as did Dennis and Patricia Doyle and the Doyle family, of Spokane; Bert and Helen Jacobson, Jack Redinger, Vernon and Myrna Shockley, Richard and Connie O’Brien, and an anonymous donor, all of Spokane.

Edith Dixon, and the Dixon family, of Spokane, donated $100 in memory of Dr. Vernon Dixon and their son, Albert Lee Dixon.

Joan Pribnow, of Spokane, sent $100, as did Ed and June Rooney, Dorothy Johnson, Lorna Stevenson, and Margaret Storer, all of Spokane. Dr. B.J. Greany, of Greenacres, donated $100, as did Harold Wilson, of Spokane; and the BSNF Veteran’s Association.

John and Linda Muir, of Cheney, gave $100, as did Milan DeRuwe, and Grace Nissen, both of Spokane.

John Hocking, of Spokane, sent $100 in memory of Pauline B. Hocking.

Sarah and Frank Wasicek, Jr., of Spokane, sent a note and $100, “in memory of one of Washington’s greatest sons that ever lived. Mr. Floyd E. Harvey of Steptoe, Wash., passed away in his 81st year of life. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, World War II Marine, Purple Heart recipient, and a farmer. Bud was a rare man. He was one you could trust. He had a great sense of humor and the kindest soul I ever knew.”

Gail and Dave DeRoshia, of Spokane, sent $100 and a note: “God bless you for all you do for those in need. We hope this helps.”

Nancy Korn, of Spokane Valley, donated $100 in memory of Mamie Cauvel and Al Korn.

Sarah and Edward Kirby, of Mead, gave $100 in memory of Carrie F. Martin.

Loretta Bremer, of Spokane, donated $100 in memory of her husband, George W. Bremer.

Dick and Bobbi Siers, of Spokane, sent $75, as did Edward and Eileen Looker, of Spokane Valley, in honor of their five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

An anonymous donor, of Spokane, sent $75 “in honor of the men and women who keep me going like the Energizer bunny: doctors Carol Wyshem, Mel Lindauer, Larry Milsow and Richard Bale, and their staffs. You are all No. 1 in my book,” she wrote.

Harvey and Dorothy Lochhead, of Spokane, donated $50, as did Jeff and Eileen Anderson, Mark and Catherine Doerrs, Alta Reed, Lawrence Smith, and Don, Judi and Myer Young, all of Spokane.

Frances Christman, of Spokane, sent $50, as did Virginia King, John and Kathryn Tracy, Jr., Evilena Cozzetto, Bill and Eileen Benge, and an anonymous donor, all of Spokane. Charlie, Genia and Ethan Newman also sent $50.

Rachel Buchlin donated $48.25 through PayPal.

Trudy Scott, of Spokane, sent $30 and a note: “… when I read that before her death, Donna Hanson had personally requested donations to help Spokane’s truly needy through the Christmas Bureau, I knew I would find a way to scrape together a donation. Why? Because Donna Hanson was the real deal when it came to the spirit of giving.”

Gordon and Terry Radford, of Hayden, Idaho, also donated $30.

Barbara and Michael Dooley, of Spokane, sent $25.01 and a note: “My Christmas wish this year is for someone to really explain Medicare Part D.”

Vicki Dunn, of Spokane, donated $25, as did Louise Delaney, Fern Showacre, Betty Collin, Adeline Thompson, Robert Small, and Glenis Brantley, all of Spokane.

Alene Pokstefl, of Greenacres, donated $25, as did Floyd Stewart, of Loon Lake; Tracy Howe, of Spokane, Mary and Charles Steen, of Liberty Lake; Hosey and Josephine Horton, Darrel and Laureen Monasmith, all of Spokane, and an anonymous donor, of Spokane Valley.

Ruth Miller, of Spokane, sent $25 in memory of her husband, Charles.

The members of the Happy Hour Club of Garden Springs also donated $25.

Daniel Morris, of Spokane Valley, donated $20, as did Greg Thorburn.

Douglas and Jane Salvadalena, of Veradale, donated $17.

Beatrice Scheele, of Spokane, donated $10, as did Dorothy Nilsen, also of Spokane. Martha Hibbard, of Spokane, sent $10 in memory of Allen and Elizabeth Hibbard.

Jan Angulo, of Spokane, sent $10 and a note: “Been there, done that. Thanks to the grace of God and the love and generosity of other people, I have all I really need. I can even share a little with those who still need a little help. I wish it could be more.”