New director Don Kelly has help of past leader, his own experience

Christmas Bureau organizers expect to give holiday fixings to more than 33,000 poor people from the community during the charity’s two-week run in December at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center.

The Spokesman-Review partners with Catholic Charities and Volunteers of America in the operation of the Christmas Bureau, supported by donations from the community, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Hundreds of volunteers set up and staff the bureau. Dozens more work behind the scenes throughout the year on tasks ranging from ordering 16,000 toys to arranging the trucks needed to transport the computers, tables and chairs from storage to the fairgrounds.

Donations to The Spokesman-Review’s Christmas Fund pay for the toys and food vouchers distributed at the Christmas Bureau.

Donations of all amounts are welcome. The names of the donors and the amounts of their donations will be reported in daily stories in the newspaper, beginning Monday. Donors who prefer to remain anonymous should indicate their wishes in a note accompanying their donation.

The volunteer directors of the bureau are instrumental in coordinating the efforts of the agencies and helping oversee the daily operation when the bureau is open.

Last year, Don Kelly and Pat Ryan worked closely with director Carol Speltz in preparation of assuming the reins this year. After Ryan died last summer, Kelly prepared to assume the duties alone.

“Soon after Pat died, Carol Speltz came to me and said, ‘I’ll be there to help you. I’ll take over for Pat,’ ” Kelly said.

“I intend to be at the bureau every day with Don,” Speltz said. “I may not arrive at 7 and stay until 6 like I did last year, but I’ll be there to do what’s needed.”

She expects to have more time this year to walk the floor and shake hands. “The aspect I most enjoyed was serving the truly needy, the working poor,” Speltz said. “They are the nicest, kindest recipients.”

Until recently, a volunteer director often continued in that role for several years, having gained expertise that contributed to smooth operations. As the bureau grew in scope, Catholic Charities devoted the time of a staff person, and the volunteer directors served for a single year, with the next year’s director in training.

Theresa Dryden, the Catholic Charities special events coordinator, was preceded by Karen Orlando.

Kelly has worked in various capacities as a volunteer since the mid-1990s, all the while keeping an eye on previous volunteer directors, including Speltz, Mike Riley, Bruce Butler and Sally Quirk.

“Donna Hanson asked me if I’d work at the bureau. The first year I was surprised that there was no inventory control. I did a little when I had spare time, but it was not very effective,” Kelly said.

When the bureau was moved to the fairgrounds in the late 1990s, Kelly said he continued working to improve inventory control.

“I started to inventory the toys every day, but that wasn’t of value. Then we made a program that indicated how long each type of toy lasted,” he said. “If it was gone in two or three days, it was very popular. If we had some left over at the end, the toy buyers cut back on that toy order the next year.”

It wasn’t until he semiretired that Kelly considered taking on more responsibility at the Christmas charity.

Kelly’s goal is to continue streamlining the operation. About 10,000 poor families come to the bureau each December to select toys for their children and pick up food vouchers.

The recipients are processed at an identification table to verify their need. They proceed to a computer operator to get a food voucher, then the books tables and toy rooms to select items for their children.

“For the most part it goes smoothly,” Kelly said. “I plan to observe and see if there are other changes that will make it work better.”

Kelly and other organizers have already spent dozens of hours preparing for the bureau setup and operation. In past years, the director and the person in training traded days off, but Kelly said this year, with the loss of Ryan, he plans to work the entire 10 days. But he said it’s a very satisfying way to spend a couple of weeks.

“I feel some value in this,” he said. “I really feel this is a worthwhile thing to do, and that’s important to me.”