By Payton Tholstrup
The Cloud County Resource Center began accepting holiday basket applications for the season on October 15th. Various programs are available, including Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets, Angel Tree/ABATE, and Silver Santa. Tonya Merrill, Director of the Cloud County Resource Center, explained each program.
Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets are projects that have expanded in the last five years. At first, only Christmas boxes were available, but due to so many requests, grants were taken out in 2020 to add a Thanksgiving version. “These boxes include the supplies to help low-income families and individuals have holiday staples like ham, turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and the ingredients needed to make pumpkin pies,” said Merrill. Extra items, such as bread and cereal, are included to help families get through the holidays.
The Angel Tree is a gift-giving program for children from birth to the age of 12. Their Christmas wish lists remain anonymous and are placed on tags in the local Walmart. Shoppers can choose a tag and shop to fulfill those wishes. At the end, the Resource Center fills the tags of any “unadopted angels.” “The tags typically ask for one outfit (shirt/pants and pajamas) and one toy or interest-based item,” Merrill said.
ABATE is the sister program of the Angel Tree, for children ages 12 – 18. The gifts go to each child or teen in an eligible household and include an interest-based item, and clothing items such as gloves, socks, and underwear.
The Silver Santa Program allows seniors ages 55 and up in the community to request items that their fixed/low income might not be able to provide for themselves. “Typically, Santas (and Mrs. Clauses) get an article of clothing like jackets, coats, hats, gloves, socks, sweatshirts, and pajama pants, and an item or a hobby gift.”
Only residents of Cloud County can apply for these programs. Applications must be received by November 15th. Everyone who registers for a basket gets Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets unless they choose to opt-out.
Merrill added that those who do not have anyone in their household under the age of 18 or over 55 will not receive gifts.
The Resource Center is currently taking food donations to fill Santa’s Sleigh so the holiday baskets can be completed. Items needed include 600 boxes of stuffing, 600 packages of mashed potatoes, 1,200 boxes of baking/cake mix, and more. A full list of items needed can be found below.
For those who would like to donate toys, drop-off locations include World Insurance, California Phil’s, Foley Equipment, and Cloud Corp in Concordia.
On average, the Resource Center processes and registers between 300-400 baskets per holiday so approximately 600-800 baskets in total.
In 2023, the Resource Center processed about 360 baskets per holiday, making it a total of 820 baskets. Donations are important in making this happen.
If you are interested in adopting a family for the holidays, you can contact the Resource Center and provide them with information on what size of family you would like to help or how many individuals/families you would like to adopt. “Sometimes, Silver Santa is a better fit for adoption, and we are happy to help people get the giving experience they want out of this holiday program,” Merrill said.
You can call the Resource Center at 785-243-1065 or visit their Facebook page for more information.
