BY RILEY WILSON
The spirit of holiday giving has spread throughout Eudora with various programs stepping forward to support community members in need during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Twenty-eight Eudora Elementary families will have their Christmas meals provided for this year by the elementary school through the Holiday Meals program.
Elementary Principal Susan Tinich said this is a good way for the school to get involved in helping students and families in need.
“Sometimes people don’t know how to help or what direction to go with it. So, if you give them the means, then they will find a way,” Tinich said.
The turkeys will be provided for by the elementary students, who can bring in coins for the Pennies for Poultry initiative starting Dec. 2.
Elementary staff members will work together to buy the remaining food items and the Eudora Schools Foundation will provide the bags to collect food.
“It’s truly a community experience,” Tinich said.
The Elementary School plans to expand the Holiday Meals program next year to allow families to choose a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.
Another way families in need of a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal can get support is through Just Food, a Douglas County food bank.
Ryan Bowersox, director of marketing and outreach at Just Food, said the organization will provide Thanksgiving meals to 1,100 families this year with the help of the community.
“With these holidays that are very much meal-oriented holidays, if it’s already stressful for you to get food on the table anyways, there’s an added stress that goes into providing a meaningful meal and a gathering of your family,” Bowersox said.
Willing individuals can sponsor a family by donating $15, which can be donated through the Just Food website. So far, the organization has raised over $14,500 for Thanksgiving meals.
Bowersox said providing these meals is an opportunity to help families in need during the holidays, but also reminds clients that the organization can help year-round.
“Sometimes we have folks who don’t see us for a few months and then they get back in the pantry and see that we can be helping throughout the year as well,” he said.
Another outlet of holiday giving is the Eudora Lions Club Angel Tree program. The program provides Christmas gifts and a meal to those in need.
Six Angel trees are located throughout Eudora with angel ornaments strung about them, each representing a child in need. This year, 105 kids within 39 families have an angel. Lions Club President Eric Strimple said the program is a great way to give back.
“I think that’s the key takeaway is no matter what, there’s always something we can do for someone else,” Strimple said.
Each angel carries information about a child and what items are needed. Those who want to sponsor a child can take an angel and shop for what’s described on it. Unwrapped gifts must be returned to City Hall by Dec. 13 along with the angel.
In addition to gifts, each family is provided with a Christmas meal, which includes about 50 pounds of food, Strimple said. The Lions Club works closely with Gene’s Heartland Foods and Mateo Chiropractic to gather food.
“For the kids, seeing the presents under the tree on Christmas morning, or whenever they decide to do it, lights up their hearts but in the same breath, I think the relief on the parents knowing that they’ve got a Christmas meal to provide to their family so that they can sit down as a family and celebrate the holiday,” Strimple said.
Another giving tree went up in Eudora this week at the Eudora Police Department to collect gifts for students in the Eudora School District. The program started three years ago when School Resource Officer Caleb Lewis wanted to do more to help students in need during the holidays.
“Knowing that they get down in the holidays and knowing that they’re not going to get everything that these other kids get, that’s kind of what started it,” Lewis said.
Ornaments are placed on the tree with information about each child and what items are needed. Those looking to donate can take an ornament and return unwrapped gifts to the police station by Dec. 18 along with the ornament.
Each year, the department starts with one family, but another family always gets added because of the immense amount of community support, Lewis said.
“A lot of times, we’ll have one ornament that says, ‘athletic pants for, say, an 11-year-old boy,’ and it never fails there’s always families that grab one of those ornaments and buy like 10 pairs of pants,” Lewis said. “A lot of times we have a lot more than what one child needs.”
In addition to the Angel Tree program and the Police Department, a collaborative program between the Eudora Schools Foundation and the School District provides outreach to Eudora students in need.
The program, called Operation Caring, provides nominated students with clothing and other necessitates. Shanda Hurla, executive director of the foundation, along with school principals and counselors, spent time with 32 students this week and helped them pick out clothes.
“It’s huge for students to be able to have the dignity to pick out clothing for themselves,” Hurla said. “Having the student select clothing is just really important to them when they may not have that at home.”
Each student gets a $100 budget. Elementary students shop at Kohls followed by lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, while middle and high school students do online shopping through Kohls.
Hurla said it’s often the first time students are able to pick out their own clothes and experience a sit-down restaurant. The impact of the program is evident, Hurla said, through the reaction of one student who found the perfect sweatshirt.
“When she put it on, her confidence level just really rose,” Hurla said.
For more information on how to help or receive help, check out the list below.
To Receive Help:
Holiday Meals: Provides a Christmas meal to Eudora Elementary families in need. Sign up for a meal at Eudora Elementary School.
Just Food: Just Food is a food pantry in Lawrence that provides food to Douglas County residents in need. Individuals must be a client to receive services. Become a client by signing up in person.
Location: 1000 E. 11th St., Lawrence
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
Contact: info@justfoodks.org or (785) 856-7030
To Help:
Holiday Meals: Provides a Christmas meal to Eudora Elementary families in need.
How to help: Send coins with Eudora Elementary students to donate to the Pennies for Poultry initiative.
Just Food: Financial donations are accepted online. Food donations are accepted at the location from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
How to help:
Sponsor a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal by donating $15 through the website.
Donate socks, financial contributions or unsold food from grocery stores or farms.
Become a volunteer.
Invest in a business partnership.
Angel Tree: Provides Eudora students in need with necessities and gifts during Christmas.
How to help: Take an angel ornament and shop for what’s described on it. A minimum of $20 is the suggested spending amount. Unwrapped gifts must be returned to City Hall by 4:30 p.m. Dec. 13
Angel Tree locations:
City Hall
Kaw Valley State Bank
Gene’s Heartland Foods
Mateo Chiropractic
AuBurn Pharmacy
Family Dollar
Eudora Police Department: Provides Eudora families with children in the school system gifts and necessities for Christmas.
How to help: Take an ornament from the tree and shop for what’s described on it. Return unwrapped gifts to the station by Dec. 18 along with the ornament.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
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