By Cali Bagby
During the holidays, times in this current economy can be hard for Lopez Island families struggling with finances. In these colder months, they face higher household expenses, like heating bills, and three weeks without the school’s free or reduced lunch during holiday vacation.
“Every year, we have seen the number of people in need increasing for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Celia Marquis, director of the Lopez Island Family Resource Center. “People have been out of work for longer, and we are really noticing the effects of the economy — some people have been out of work for a couple of years.”
LIFRC’s The Spirit of Giving Program helps relieve financial and emotional stress from parents and brings joy to kids during the holidays.
The LIFRC staff wants to provide its clients – including those living in poverty – the tools to not only succeed, but to move forward with positive changes.
Last year, 130 individuals and 35 families received assistance during Thanksgiving and 143 individuals and 36 families including 79 children received help for Christmas festivities.
Every year, the program provides at least 30 families with Thanksgiving boxes per year. The boxes are filled with the goods for Thanksgiving dinner including a turkey or chicken, cranberries, and vegetables, homemade baked pies and breads.
Around 30 families per year participate in the Christmas giving portion of the program. “Giving trees” — festive trees with gift certificate requests tied to the branches — are set up around town, located at local businesses. Gift certificates are available both for local stores and for mainland stores where people can access clothing and other needed products not readily available on the island. You can make a donation by purchasing gift cards, then bringing them in person or sending them by mail to the Family Resource Center.
Another option for donating is to sponsor an entire family for the holiday season — the average cost per family is $275.
Times are also hard for nonprofit organizations like LIFRC that are struggling to meet the growing demands of their clients during a time when funding and access to resources are being cut.
Despite these struggles and the fact that it is more of a stretch for small businesses to make a donation, LIFRC staff says the Lopez Island community has been consistently generous and supportive, always willing to give what it can.
“We couldn’t do it without local businesses that have been great supporters of the program,” said Patsy Haber, LIFRC program coordinator. “It takes a community to support the community.”
You can also make a cash donation in person to the Family Resource Center in Lopez Village, mail it to P.O. Box 732, Lopez Island, WA, 98261 or online at www.lifrc.org.
For more info, call 468-4117 or email lifrc@rockisland.com.
