HANCOCK COUNTY — Thanks to all that 2020 has entailed, the need for charitable giving has skyrocketed this Christmas season.
Many people have answered the call for donations and volunteers through various holiday giving programs, but the need continues. Below is a list of programs and the needs that still remain:
Gift Lift
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe mission: Mental Health Partners of Hancock County provides gifts to isolated senior citizens and residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each person served by the program will receive a box containing personal care items.
What’s needed: Money, volunteers and personal care items, such as toothbrushes and hairbrushes
Where the donations go: Officials from Mental Health Partners are providing gifts to 200 residents in nursing homes and group homes, which is down from 500 the previous year due to a reduction in donations.
Many recipients live in group homes or assisted-living facilities. The agency is also providing gifts to members of the Greenfield Senior Center this year. Gifts include requested gift items, blankets, snacks and candy, personal care boxes and hand-knitted scarves and lap robes.
How to get involved: Donations are being accepted up until 3 p.m. today, (Dec. 17). They can be dropped off to the Mental Health Partners office at the Memorial Building, 98 E. North St., Suite 204, Greenfield, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call the office at 317-462-2877 for more information.
Hancock County Christmas Connection
The mission: Hancock County Christmas Connection consists of Greenfield-Central school social workers and counselors working collaboratively with one another and with several community organizations to serve as many families in need as possible.
Those community organizations include: Toys for Tots of Hancock County; Love In the Name of Christ of Greater Hancock County; Sertoma’s Santa’s Helpers program, Greenfield Police Department, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, Healthy Families, Interlocal Community Action Program, Department of Child Services and Children’s Bureau, Inc. The other three school corporations in the county have their own Christmas assistance programs.
The program accepts applications from families in need and then works to match those families with community sponsors. Sponsors may include churches, businesses, families and individuals who want to help others provide Christmas gifts for their children. All applications are reviewed to verify need.
What’s needed: Gift cards for gasoline and grocery stores are still being accepted.
Where the donations go: Any donations will be put toward helping qualifying families provide Christmas gifts to their children.
Although the deadline has passed to submit an application, families with school-age children may contact their school social worker or counselor to see if any resources might still be available. Families with children who are not in school may contact Love INC at 317-468-6300. No guarantee for direct assistance can be made.
How to get involved: More information also is available by contacting Terry Miller, school social worker at Weston Elementary School, at 317-462-1492.
Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign
The mission: The Red Kettle Campaign is the Salvation Army’s only annual fundraiser. Volunteer bell-ringers take up posts outside storefronts in Greenfield and New Palestine, spreading holiday cheer and seeking donations from passersby.
What’s needed: Money, volunteers
Where the donations go: All money collected in Hancock County stays in Hancock County. About 70% of the donations are used to assist individuals and families in financial emergencies; 20% is used to fund local nursing home programs, children’s summer camps and school supplies distributions; and the remaining 10% covers operational costs.
The local Salvation Army chapter doled out more than $21,300 of financial assistance to 253 recipients last year, to people ranging in age from 3 months to 85 years old.
By the end of September this year, the organization had already given out more than $31,100 in assistance to 420 recipients.
How to get involved: Bell-ringers have been out in force since Nov. 21, stationed in front of the Greenfield Kroger and Walmart as well as the Needler’s Fresh Market in New Palestine. They will keep ringing their bells until Christmas Eve. To become a bell-ringer, visit registertoring.com. Volunteers commit to two-hour shifts, with weekend and weekday opportunities available.
Santa’s Helpers — Greenfield Sertoma
The mission: Santa’s Helpers, a national program, is operated locally by Greenfield Sertoma, a community-service organization. Members of the group round up donations to help families in need purchase children’s clothing. The program operates by the generosity of people, businesses and clubs in the community.
What’s needed: Money
Where the donations go: Recipients identified through the Hancock County Christmas Connection are sent vouchers each year. On Tuesday, Santa’s Helpers were at the Greenfield Walmart handing out vouchers to those who needed help purchasing clothing.
Families are referred to the program by Hancock County Christmas Connection agencies. Sertoma draws from a separate fund to cover the overhead costs of the Santa’s Helpers program, so 100% of donations go to families in need.
How to get involved: Individuals can mail donations to P.O. Box 43 at the Greenfield Post Office, 207 N. State St., Greenfield. More information also is available by calling Steve Burt at 317-902-8109.
