In the Spirit
Opportunities Abound for Holiday Giving

Olivia Wyers (left) and Sharman Colegrove, fifth grade students at St. Ignace Middle School, collected cans worth $75.20 and donated their efforts to the Mackinac County Toys for Tots Christmas toy drive Saturday, November 24.

The following local programs are in need of donations for the holiday season:

•St. Ignace Toy Drive: Several St. Ignace businesses serve as locations where people can donate to the local Toys for Tots Christmas charity. The deadline to donate cash or new, unwrapped toys is Friday, December 14, and gifts will be distributed December 15. All gifts will be distributed locally.

Toy donations may be made in collection boxes at the following locations: The St. Ignace News office, all locations of First National Bank, Glen's Market, the Gold Mine, True Value, and U.P. State Credit Union.

Cash donations may be made in canisters at the following locations: B.P. Truck Stop, Holiday station, both St. Ignace locations of McGregor Oil Shell Stations, B.C. Pizza, Big Boy restaurant, and The St. Ignace News.

For the second consecutive year, fourth grade students from St. Ignace Area Schools deliver food to the St. Ignace Food Pantry on Ferry Lane. The donated goods, collected by kindergarten-throughseventh grade classes, quickly filled sparse shelves at the pantry, which has been used heavily this year, said Food Pantry Coordinator Tom Schenkel. Pictured (front to back) are Taylor Thomas, Taylor Andress, Natalee Lee, and Drew Grogan (in hood).

Donations may also be mailed to: Toys for Tots in care of Wendy Colegrove, 152 Bertrand Street, St. Ignace Michigan 49781 or The St. Ignace News, P.O. Box 277, St. Ignace.

•Santa's Elves at Les Cheneaux: The Santa's Elves Program, which collects gifts for needy families, will continue through Friday, December 14, at First National Bank in Cedarville.

Gift requests, in the form of a tag with a child's age and gender attached, can be selected from a Christmas tree at First National Bank.

The suggested gift value is $20 to $25. Clothing is not suggested because sizing children is difficult. Santa's Elves fill clothing requests when necessary.

This holiday season, Santa's Elves volunteers expect to provide food for holiday meals to at least 44 local families, and gifts to 115 children. Program coordinators Kate Ter Haar and Pat O'Brien match the gifts to the children who need them, and package the gifts for a parent or guardian to pick up.

Donors should bring wrapped gifts to First National Bank on Meridian Street in Cedarville, and attach the gift request card to the gift so coordinators can identify recipients.

Santa's Elves fulfills emergency requests for clothing, food, and toiletries year around, such as for people who have lost items in a fire. Cash donations help support the program throughout the year. Information about the program can be obtained by calling Mrs. Ter Haar at (906) 484-3610 or Mrs. O'Brien at (906) 484-3520. Donations can be mailed to Santa's Elves, care of Kate Ter Haar, 803 Islington Road, Cedarville, Michigan 49719.

•Adopt-a-Child Christmas Program, Department of Human Services: Eighteen families are on the waiting list for Christmas gifts through the Department of Human Services. Families who request help through the program complete a wish list, specifying the age and gender of children in the household. Donors can learn more about "adopting" a child or children in a family by calling St. Ignace area program coordinator Julie Waldron at (231) 627-8539 before Thursday, December 13.

Families will be matched with donors who then buy, wrap, and personally deliver gifts to the home.

"Our goal is to make sure every child in the county has something for Christmas," Ms. Waldron said. "The donor does not have to buy everything on the family's list, but we want to focus on working together to give something to each child, at least. They may not get exactly what they have asked for, but we will try to supply an ageappropriate gift. We fill requests as best we can."

The requests for assistance are greater than the number of donors. Any child not adopted from the list by December 14 will be added to the local Toys for Tots and Santa's Elves programs (listed above).

Families are not required to meet an income eligibility, and needs are judged on a case-by-case basis. Families can apply for help at the Department of Human Services office on Ferry Lane in St. Ignace.

•The Hope Chest Resale Shop and St. Ignace Food Pantry: The St. Ignace Food Pantry on Ferry Lane is experiencing a period of heavy use and is accepting donations of food, toiletries, and paper products Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Arrangements can be made to drop off donations at any other time by calling Donna Pope at 643-8458 or (906) 430-0905.

Sales at the Hope Chest thrift store, located in the same building, help buy food for the pantry. Used clothing and household items can be donated at the thrift store during its open hours, listed above.

The food pantry and resale store will be closed Monday, December 24.

The Hope Chest is also accepting donations of new toys for Christmas. They will be made available in the store to families who may otherwise find it difficult to provide gifts.

•First National Bank of St. Ignace Mitten Tree: The mitten tree at the main branch of the bank is now accepting donations of new mittens, gloves, hats, and winter accessories. The items will be distributed to needy families through Toys for Tots and the Department of Human Services.

• Cedar Post Emergency Pantry in Cedarville: Donations of food, toiletries, paper goods, housewares, and clothing may be dropped off directly at Cedar Post Mondays through Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Cash donations are sought to buy fresh meat. Hats, scarves, and mittens are particularly needed. Frozen foods are accepted.

First Union Church of Cedarville's Sunday School program is hosting a monthly food drive with a different theme each month. Sue Rye is coordinating the program, which she launched in October with soup as the theme. Forty-nine cans of soup were collected through the drive. In November, 40 boxes of macaroni and cheese were donated. December's theme is peanut butter and jelly. The collection is not limited to Union Church members, and Mrs. Rye invites people to bring items to the church or call her at (906) 484-3193 to make arrangements. Themes will be announced monthly.

Cedar Post is just east of Les Cheneaux Community Schools on M-134 in Cedarville.

•West Mackinac County Food Pantry in Engadine: The pantry is accepting donations of food, canned goods, paper products, and cleaning products from noon to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays at its building on Melville Street.

Items particularly needed at the pantry right now include paper products and canned goods. Refrigeration is not available, but the pantry does have a freezer.

•Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Christmas Drive Sponsored by Tribal Employees: Call Lisa Bumstead at the Anishnabek Community and Family Services office in Sault Ste. Marie at (906) 632-5250 to donate gifts to be delivered to needy children and families in the area through Christmas Eve.

•Pickford FCCLA Gift Drive: The Family, Community, and Careers Leaders of America (FCCLA) will collect gifts for children and families in the Pickford area. The group is hosting a gift tree at Tahquamenon Area Credit Union, Pickford Branch, at 115 East Harold Street in Pickford. Genders and ages of children who need gifts can be selected from the tree, and donations can then be brought to the credit union.

At the school, FCCLA students are also collecting canned goods, personal care items, good, used clothing in all sizes, especially children's clothing, and new or good used toys through Friday, December 14. Donations can be given to any FCCLA member, brought to Pickford Public Schools, or call FCCLA Advisor Kathy Jacobson at (906) 647-6285 to arrange pick-up of items. Home pick-up of furniture can also be arranged by calling Mrs. Jacobson.