MARYSVILLE As the holidays are bearing down community members are gearing up for their busy season as preparations start for the annual giving drive throughout town.
Operation Marysville Community Christmas kicked off last weekend with the ubiquitous red barrels placed at strategic locations to gather food and toy donations for later on in winter.
But those barrels are just the tip of the iceberg, as an army of volunteers is needed for a variety of activities. OMCC has been around for 23 years and works in conjunction with the Marysville Community Food Bank to get food and toys to those in need during the holidays. People can put donations of food or toys in the red barrels and the OMCC folks make sure they get where they are needed.
Were like the Christmas house for Marysville, explained Lillie Lein, one of the bigwigs at OMCC. We provide the gifts for the people who come to the food bank for food. They come to us and they pick out toys for their kids.
Last year during the Christmas rush 1,150 kids belonging to about 500 families were helped during a three-day period. A big toy store operation was created in a vacant insurance building on State Avenue and clients of the food bank were referred there to select toys and things for their children. Rooms are set up for different ages groups and parents get to choose items they think their children will like. At the end of the week spare bicycles are raffled off
Our main focus is the toys for kids at Christmas but we also support the food bank, Lein said. The toys come to us and the food goes to the food bank.
And that three-day event takes weeks to set up, with lots of elbow grease from community volunteers. Toys have to be collected and sorted and then displayed. The work usually starts in October and goes until the new year.
The toy store is only open for three days, but there is a lot of work that we have to do to get that far, Lein said. We can always use volunteers, especially when it comes time to set up and distribute.
While donations of toys and money are welcome, Lein noted wryly that everybody wants to give the same things and over the years a pattern has emerged where the teenagers are always left out.
We always fall short of gifts for teens, Lein said. Everybody wants to buy the cute little dolls for the cute little girls. Everybody wants to buy the little toy trucks so it gets a little bit harder.
She suggested folks wanting to balance things out could give compact disks, electronic gadgets and similar items. Gift cards are always great because then the kids can find what they want right at the store. Gift cards are also available for movie theaters too, she added. The operation can always use cash donations, and also needs wrapping paper, bows, etc. and stocking stuffers and candy for stockings. Temporary use of building space, tables and chairs is also needed.
Lein encouraged anybody who wants to volunteer to call or write the Marysville Community Food Bank at 360-658-1054 or Post Office Box 917, Marysville, WA 98270.
Help is needed for many events, including the following:
n From now until Sunday, Dec. 24, help is needed collecting donations from collection points around town.
n The weekend of Nov. 18 and 19, help is needed in the afternoon to sort food and create holiday boxes.
n Dec. 15 to 20, volunteers are needed to set up the toy store distribution center.
n Dec. 21, 22 and 23 help is needed to distribute toys and clean up afterwards.
Its also time to sign up for the annual holiday parade, scheduled for Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. The Merrysville for the Holidays Electric Lights Parade attracts a huge crowd to State Avenue despite freezing weather. Last year about 21 floats were entered and coordinator Kayla Flynn of the Marysville Parks and Recreation Department is trying to double that. She is aiming to have at least 35 entries on a new, shorter route.
Its a great opportunity for groups or businesses to promote themselves because you can include the entire family, Flynn said.
Were looking for church groups, school PTSAs or businesses.
Last year the parade closed down State Avenue from Grove Street south to Comeford Park; this year it will start at City Hall and end at Comeford Park. The park will host several events, with a crafts show at the Ken Baxter Senior Community Center. Flynn already has six entries lined up, and said that an entry can be a group of folks walking behind a banner or a truck rigged up with lights.
The deadline for entries is Nov. 29, but sooner is better, Flynn said. To sign up or to get more information call Flynn at the parks department at 360-363-8401. The parade is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6:30 p.m. Parade entries cost $10.