Christmas Sharing donates items to 900 Wheaton Warrenville families
Hundreds of families in need living within the boundaries of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 will go home with food, clothes, toys and gift certificates this weekend thanks to Christmas Sharing of Wheaton Warrenville.
Volunteers are busy sorting through donated items and preparing for two days of distribution events that will occur Friday night and Saturday morning at eight area churches, said Christmas Sharing President Barbara Wernicke.
"People are just very enthusiastic about participating," she said, adding that between 20 to 100 volunteers will help out at each church.
Social workers from every District 200 school has provided the names of families they know may be struggling to the organization and sent out letters inviting the families to attend one of the distribution events, Wernicke said.
It's that strength of the partnership the organization has with District 200, Wernicke said, that makes the program stand out from others in the area.
"That is the key element," she said. "It would be almost impossible to do this without District 200 providing us not only with the access to the families in a confidential manner, but with collecting donations and supporting the program in the way they do."
District 200's new superintendent, Jeffrey Schuler, is even planning to volunteer at one of the churches on Saturday, Wernicke said.
The demographics and needs of the families the organization serves have changed significantly since Christmas Sharing was started in 1969 by District 200 social worker Bill Davisson, Wernicke said.
At the time, Davisson was working with a boy who was "acting up," but he couldn't figure out why. He went to his home and discovered the student was hungry because there was no food on hand.
That year, the organization helped out eight families. Now, it is estimated more than 900 families will have a chance to pick up whatever they need, such as one coat per family member and one toy per child in the family. They will also receive a food box.
Those served range from families living in nicer neighborhoods with two parents who have lost their jobs to refugee families from war-torn countries who have been relocated here by World Relief.
In Wheaton, churches participating in Christmas Sharing include Aldersgate United Methodist, First Presbyterian, Gary United Methodist, Holy Cross Lutheran, St. John Lutheran and Trinity Episcopal.
Warrenville churches involved with the program include Blanchard Alliance and Community Baptist.
"We're not trying to make Christians out of them, we're just trying to show Christian love to them. That's why we do this," Wernicke said.
The charity is collecting donations through today, although anything that is collected after then will be used at next year's event. Anyone interested in volunteering at a distribution event is asked to contact the church they would like to work at. For information, visit christmas-sharing.org.