Christmas House volunteers get as much as they give

How to help

Christmas House still needs donations in the final two days. To donate children’s gifts and toys, call 425-258-1808 or go to www.christmas-house.org.

What’s still needed:

•Small toys for stocking stuffers

Toys for children between the ages of 4 and 14, such as dolls, coloring books and remote-controlled toys.

Cash donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 717, Everett, WA 98206.

By Sharon Salyer

Herald Writer

It started small, with just $10, and bloomed into a project that could benefit more than 2,000 children.

The money was a challenge grant from Everett’s Imagine Children’s Museum, part of a lesson in philanthropy.

That’s a word usually associated with big foundations and deep pockets.

But 26 students in a second-grade class at the Penny Creek Elementary School, part of the Everett School District, were given the task of using that money to benefit others.

“When we sat down to brainstorm how to spend the $10 … overwhelmingly there was a theme of helping kids,” teacher Crystal Moore said. “It was important to my kids that it was local children.”

A school counselor suggested Christmas House, the Everett-based nonprofit that for 30 years has helped provide toys and gifts to the children of families who might otherwise not be able to afford them. The organization, based at the Everett Boys &Girls Club, will be accepting donations — and giving out gifts — for two more days, today and Monday.

OK, so the class had its organization selected. But how to spend that $10?

Students knew that $10 wouldn’t buy a lot, “but if we used the $10 to advertise, we could probably collect a lot from the community,” Moore said.

Class members decided to spend the $10 on art supplies so they could make posters announcing their effort to collect hats, gloves and earmuffs for Christmas House.

The PTA sent out a note on the project in its weekly e-mail to parents and staff. Donation boxes were set up near the school’s office and courtyard. Excitement for the project grew as it morphed from a one-class to a schoolwide project.

“I had e-mails coming in from parents saying, ‘My kid is so excited about collecting these items,’” Moore said.

By Monday, when long-time Christmas House volunteers Pam and Steve Sorenson pulled their truck up to the school’s sidewalk, 2,027 hats, gloves and earmuffs had been donated, enough that the students had to carry them out to the truck in big plastic bags. School staff donated stuffed animals.

Christine Ngo, 7, was one of the students who made posters to publicize the effort. “I like helping other people,” she said. “It’s fun and it makes me feel good.

“It was my first time to load up a truck, too,” she said.

Tristan Diers, 8, said it took a lot of work to sort out the hats, scarves, gloves and earmuffs. The bags of donations they carried to the Sorenson’s truck were heavy, he said, but he didn’t mind.

“I like lifting heavy stuff,” Tristan said. “And we could help the community.”

The donations from the Penny Creek school are just one example of the local businesses, groups, churches and individuals who have donated gifts for an estimated 12,000 children this year, Pam Sorenson said.

The Sorensons have turned Christmas House into a year-round passion. Pam Sorenson begins looking for coats each year in January, when discounts are deep. She continues buying throughout the year, sometimes 10 items at a time, sometimes 100.

“It depends on the price and deal we’re getting,” she said.

She and husband, Steve, make pick-up trips throughout the year for Christmas House.

Pam Sorenson remembers reading about Christmas House in its earliest years, when it was run out of a garage in Everett.

“I fell in love with the idea,” she said. “To help people at Christmas for free with everything donated by the community … I thought it was a match made in heaven. I got my whole family involved.”

Twenty-three years later, she and her husband are still in love with the idea, spending an average of 10 hours a week on the project during the non-holiday-rush season. When people call to offer donations, “we’re the ones that say, ‘Sure we’ll come pick it up,’” she said.

During the three weeks in December that Christmas House is open, you’ll find them there nearly every day. Forty volunteers are needed each day to keep the gift-giving tradition running smoothly.

Over the years, Christmas House has had scores of volunteers who previously benefitted from it. One this year is a woman who is helping collect toys. One day she whispered to Pam Sorenson, “You know, I had to come to Christmas House.”

“There really is a lot of tears here, but they are tears of joy,” Sorenson said. “We hear it over and over. If it wasn’t for Christmas House, my family wouldn’t have much of a Christmas this year.

“If you have any doubt about what the season is about, come to Christmas House,” she said. “It will put you in the spirit — guaranteed.”

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com

Christmas House

Located at the Boys &Girls Club gymnasium, 2316 12th St., in north Everett. Christmas House provides gifts to qualifying low-income Snohomish County families with children through age 18. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday. Call 425-338-2273 for information on how to qualify for gifts.