Christmas Fund aids far-flung clientele

Few charities are as simple as The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund and Christmas Bureau and yet serve as many of the area’s poor people.

The Christmas Fund raises hundreds of thousands of dollars between Thanksgiving and Christmas by asking for donations in daily stories in The Spokesman- Review. Nearly all money raised is given to needy families in the form of food vouchers and new toys.

Donations of all amounts are welcome. The newspaper will begin reporting the donors and the amount of their donations Monday. Donors who wish to remain anonymous should indicate their wishes on their donation checks or in a note with the donation. Otherwise, the stories will include the names of the donor and the cities in which they live, as well as the donation amount.

Last year, nearly 10,000 families, which included more than 30,000 people, came to the bureau.

“Many people don’t recognize that this is an Inland Northwest effort; it’s not just Spokane,” said Mike Reilly, volunteer chairman of the Christmas Bureau. “We receive funds from throughout the Inland Northwest, and we have recipients from throughout the area. We reach out to the needy throughout the larger community.”

Needy families most often learn of the Christmas Bureau from posters in community centers, schools, churches and elsewhere. The charity also provides food vouchers to nearly 400 needy people unable to get to the Christmas Bureau because of disabilities or health issues. Social service workers provide a list of the shut-ins to Catholic Charities by mid-November, and food vouchers are mailed in early December.

Last year the Christmas Bureau served families living in 96 ZIP codes, as well as 93 homeless families. The largest number of families, 1,809, were from the 99207 ZIP code, which includes Hillyard. Significant numbers came from the East Central and Shadle neighborhoods – 1,138 and 1,000 respectively. More than 725 families lived in the West Central neighborhood.

All ZIP codes in Spokane were represented among the bureau’s recipients, and there were dozens of families from rural communities. Twenty-eight families came from Newport, 23 from Kettle Falls, 14 from Davenport, 19 from Chewelah and 22 from Springdale.

Families also came from Idaho communities, including Lewiston, Athol, Hayden Lake, Osburn, Plummer, Spirit Lake and Worley, as well as Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene.

“A number of people from rural communities carpool to the bureau,” Reilly said. “They might only have access to one vehicle, or they try to save on gas. Last year a man from Chewelah brought three or four ladies from other families with him. It is very common to have more than one family in one vehicle. You can tell at the bureau when you see people who have identification from different addresses waiting for each other before they leave with their toys.”

Recipients are not required to provide their household income levels, but they must have papers showing their addresses and that they already receive some sort of federal or state aid. Most often they bring Medicaid cards, a recent power bill and report cards for children in the household. Addresses must match the addresss on photo identification of the adults asking for help. Recipients must also prove that the children for whom they want toys also live at their address.

That still leaves Reilly with judgment calls when it comes to people without appropriate papers. You can tell when someone is homeless, said Reilly. They often arrive on a bicycle or on foot, or in the case of families, they often have papers from another state showing they received social services elsewhere.

Last year the bureau gave food vouchers and toys to families who last lived in Anchorage, and in the Washington cities of Shoreline, Olympia and Vancouver.

“This is a gift,” said Reilly, “and we want to be charitable.”