MARYSVILLE Santa came early for about 1,200 children last week as food bank clients carried off armloads of presents for their children, courtesy of Operation Marysville Community Christmas.
For 23 years the community has gathered and donated toys for the less fortunate each fall, disbursing the goods for parents just in time for Christmas.
Last Thursday was the first of three days when food bank clients could gather an assortment of treasures for under the Christmas tree. In the first two hours volunteers helped 82 families shop at the improvised toy store on State Avenue, where presents were displayed in different rooms of a vacant office building, separated by age and interests. Parents could select a variety of games, dolls, sports gear and the like, with a set amount for each child in a family. Some of those families had as many as 11 or 12 children, and there were many folks new to this country.
For the first time in a couple of years there was a gift-wrapping station staffed by volunteer students from Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Susie Griffiths and Vanessa Ronquillo were two M-P students wrapping a gift for Paula Stanley of Marysville. Stanley is married and her husband works but finances are still tight around the holiday for them and their four children because she is disabled and cant work. She said the largess from OMCC helped expand her Christmas bundle.
The Marysville Food Bank has been really helpful to us. They are really great, said Stanley. Theyve made our Christmas. My kids are going to be really excited. Its a wonderful thing.
OMCC volunteer Bonnie Ramsey was helping stock the tables of gifts in the former State Farm building. The group was using a larger footprint this year to display their wares, and Ramsey was supervising the room with gifts for teenagers, probably the most difficult segment of the age spectrum to please, since most donations are for toddlers and youngsters. Ramsey was handing out gifts certificates for teen-friendly events such as a teen night at the Marysville Skate Inn and movie theater tickets as well. This year Ramsey is more involved than ever, in the past she would fetch pizzas and stuff for the volunteers, she said.
The donations have been really great, Ramsey said. A lot of people have really jumped in.
Next to the toys were boxes of new, warm coats, and in the front lobby waiting area were tables piled high with used clothing for folks to take as they needed. A play area for toddlers allowed parents to get their kids some presents and still maintain the surprise.
Has everybody heard the spiel about the bikes? asked uber-volunteer Lillie Lein as she signed people in at the front desk.
The clients were given appointment times at the food bank to give everybody more time to get presents and reduce the chaos. Thats a big deal, because the presents need to be allotted so everyone gets a decent selection to choose from, and volunteers were working hard to keep a good mix on the tables for parents to choose from. That wasnt possible with the bicycles, which were given out in a lottery at the end of the three days. Lein was explaining this to the people as two of her daughters were helping clients select presents for the families.