Student Contributor -C. Glanville
This organization is dedicated to helping families in need around the holidays. The Christmas Bureau helps families by providing grocery vouchers and gifts to children for Christmas.
This organization is partnered with a couple other organizations in the Spokane area, but most of their assistance is made possible by donors. Through donations, Christmas Bureau is able to provide gifts and grocery gift cards to these families. Families will sign up for assistance in November and will come to the Spokane Fairgrounds to pick up their things on one of the designated days in December. On the pick-up days, parents get to come and get their grocery voucher and pick out a gift for their child. I really love that parents get to pick out a gift for their own child, so it is really personalized to the child’s preferences. This would be a great introductory way to talk with students about poverty and those in need around the holidays, it could also encourage volunteering in the future.
I think creating a donation drive for the Christmas Bureau at your school would be a great way to help this organization. I think it would be even better if you were able to get students, parents and staff to volunteer at one of the pick-up days. This would be a great way for students to see how much their actions can positively impact another person.
