| Economic impact reflected in Gifts for Kids program |
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By Joel Stottrup Al and Lila Roehl, who headed this year’s Gifts for Kids program in Princeton, didn’t have the numbers right away on how many people picked up gifts during their distribution this past Saturday and Sunday. But Al did report that the number of people served was higher than last year, when there were 521 children in 152 families benefiting. Only four boxes of gifts were left over at the end of this year’s distribution. People entered through the Princeton VFW Club’s side door to pick up the gifts and the traffic was heavy immediately. Just after the distribution began at 9 a.m. on Saturday, the line of people going in to pick up gifts was backed up from the door to near the end of the sidewalk on the east. Last year there were more gifts left over after the distribution, and Al noted that donations were down some this year as well. One of the good things about this year’s drive is that the gifts were appropriate for all of the age groups. Usually the gifts are lacking for infant to age two, the Roehls noted. The program is run by the Princeton VFW and the Princeton Civic Betterment Club, which helps supply gifts for needy children ages infant through 14 who reside in the Princeton School District. Despite a decrease in giving this year, which the Roehls attributed to the weak economy, the tables in the VFW meeting room were still filled with gifts from games to sporting goods and stuffed animals. Two long tables had smaller gifts that worked as stocking stuffers. “A lot of people are not working or only have a part-time job,” Al said. But the Roehls had plenty to say about the generosity of those who donated to Gifts for Kids. Sometimes the donors are anonymous. Such was the case of the man who made the 15 little rocking cradles this year. All were made of solid cherry. Another bunch of handmade gifts were the model trucks and construction equipment made of pine that were brought in toward the very end of the gift drive. Then there were the 100 tote bags that one woman had sewn out of colorful scraps of cloth, with each color and design different. The woman had been working on them all summer, Al said. A lot of people donated materials to her, Lila Roehl said. Princeton VFW member Dick Dobson gave an example last week of a person who was in need of using the Gifts for Kids program. She is a single parent who had moved up from the Twin Cities and had some unforeseen expenses right away, Dobson said. One was that she needed new fittings for one or more appliances she brought with her as she would now be using propane instead of natural gas. Also, the supply of propane had run down in the tank. The woman had two jobs and didn’t think she would ever be asking about using such a program but now had done so, Dobson said. If there are ever nonperishable gifts left over from the distribution such as stuffed animals, they are given to agencies like the ambulance service, law enforcement and fire department. Those agencies hand out stuffed animals to children at accidents, fires and disasters. The Gifts for Kids program has been going on in Princeton for about 30 years, the Roehls noted that Odegard Motors (now Princeton Auto Center) started it. The VFW Club had been running it by themselves for some years until about four or five years ago when the civic club became a co-organizer. Because of the efforts of the volunteer organizers and the goodwill of the donors and makers of the gifts for the program, this year’s drive still ended up as the organizers had hoped. As Al Roehl explained it: “We did have enough [gifts] to make everybody happy. Comments (0)
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