Christmas Will Be Brighter For 97 Recipients Of Holiday Baskets

By John Voket

The weekend before Christmas is typically a busy one for individuals and families rushing to complete their chores, shopping, and other holiday-related activities. But for dozens of volunteers and members of the Newtown Fund, last Saturday was a chance to help generous Newtown residents give back to their own.

Newtown Fund members, their families, local Boy and Girl Scouts, and volunteer drivers all came to Sandy Hook School organize, wrap, package, and deliver gifts, gift cards, and food items to the 97 recipients who qualified for the annual Holiday Basket program through Newtown Social Services.

Looking over the last few baskets waiting for pickup Monday morning, Social Services Case Manager JoAnne Klopfenstein said she and Director Ann Piccini worked side by side with several hearty scouts who carried hundreds of bags and items from donors’ vehicles.

“Those same scouts stood by until those items were wrapped and packed so they could carry them back out to waiting delivery drivers,” Ms Klopfenstein said. “Then our delivery drivers completed their rounds in about two-and-a-half hours; it was a new record!”

After some concerns that there would not be enough donors to match with needy families, she said, numerous callers stepped up to take on either full families or individual members of those families.

Newtown Fund President Doreen Kostecki was pleased to see so many returning volunteers.

“We had a lot of the same people, and I think that contributed to our finishing the deliveries so quickly,” Ms Kostecki said. The quick drop-offs helped parents who were expecting the drivers to arrive as late as 1 pm.

“The extra time helped parents who got their kids out of the house long enough to hide the arriving gifts from their children, so as not to spoil the surprise on Christmas morning,” she said.

Ms Klopfenstein said the scouts and other fund members arrived at the school by 7 am in order to begin meeting donors who lined up with vehicles full of toys, clothes, bags of groceries, and other items destined for the recipients.

“It was great because we had the kitchen going. Everybody got coffee and a hot breakfast, and then we switched over to preparing lunch for the volunteers who were there all morning, as well as the drivers who were coming back from their runs,” she said.

Newtown Fund board member Rick Mazzariello, who is charged with matching donors to “adopted” families, praised all the drivers who managed their appointed rounds with apparent ease.

“Some of these volunteers made two, three, or four trips to get everything out as quickly as possible,” he said. “And it was great to hear from first-time drivers about how good they felt when they connected with the recipients.”

He said the anonymous nature of the activity makes it even more fun and gratifying for those who both give donations, and volunteered to drive or organize items Saturday morning.

“We never match the donors to their intended family if they are volunteering to deliver,” he said. “That way you never really know who is getting your gifts. It may be the person standing next to you at the grocery store tomorrow, and you’ve made their Christmas possible.”

Thanks to the spirit of giving throughout the community, virtually all the items and donated funds received before December 18 were expended. However, Mr Mazzariello said that any additional donations received after last Friday will begin to build the organizations fund balance towards next year’s effort.

“It actually helps to start out with some donations,” he said. “It makes it a little easier to establish a budget for next year’s recipients.”

According to Ms Klopfenstein, as of noontime Monday, only a few baskets remained to be picked up by those who could not make it to the school last Saturday. She said this year, because of a growing number of seniors, disabled, and other individuals who qualified for the program, only about half of the donations included toys destined for households with younger children.

“But the gift cards make a big difference for those who need winter clothes or other furnishings for their homes,” she said. “And of course everybody tries to make the food donations stretch as far as possible.”

While the Newtown Fund’s Holiday Basket program marks the final major project for the Social Services department this year, Ms Piccini and Ms Klopfenstein will continue taking applications and assisting residents who are in need of fuel assistance.

“We’ll stay very busy through the winter with our regular case load, until we start taking applications for the WIN [Women Involved in Newtown] Easter Basket program,” Ms Klopfenstein said.