By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
The Christmas spirit is certainly alive and well in Houston County and the Caledonia area. The spirit of giving, and thinking of those less fortunate was quite evident last Wednesday when I saw first-hand the massive stockpile of Christmas gifts amassed by Houston County Care and Share.

I stopped by Merchants Bank in Caledonia to get a photo of Santa's elves, which numbered more than 30 throughout the day, busily sifting through thousands of toys and gift items piled on tables in the bank basement.

Care and Share committee members and other volunteers spent December 12 going through Christmas wish lists and filling gift bags with toys, clothing items, and gift certificates for close to 900 persons, who otherwise wouldn't have a very merry Christmas.

Care and Share began as a non-profit organization 20 years ago when a small, but ambitious group of caring folks decided to bring the joy of the Christmas season into the homes of a few families that were financially strapped. They got a bunch of mittens, scarfs, caps, apples, and oranges together and distributed them. The Care and Share idea snowballed.

Now in its 21st year, Care and Share received nearly $40,000 in cash and gift donations. In 2006, they were able to help 307 household (831 individuals) have a better holiday. Of that total, 465 were children and 97 were elderly or disabled individuals. According to Care and Share secretary-treasurer Jill Hahn, the total number served this year will approach the 900 mark.

People have come to know the county-wide program and donate heavily to it. When one considers there's less than 20,000 people living in Houston County, and all the donations made this past summer during the floods, it is truly amazing area residents were still able to donate this much to the annual Christmas drive.

Over the years as the program has grown, the committee has developed a criteria for determining who will receive the donations, and what types of items are included in the gift bags. The criteria wasn't created to omit any needy families or individuals, but rather to insure just the opposite.

According to the Care and Share mission statement, they make every effort that every child receives a gift. This might include an item for play, clothing, or a gift certificate, which the parent can use to purchase a gift for the child. Food certificates are given to each household to help with the Christmas dinner. The food certificates are purchased at the local grocery stores, and likewise, the gift certificates are purchased at local stores, whenever possible.

Care and Share committee members don't just get together several weeks before Christmas to spend a day putting gift bags together. This is actually a year-long project. Committee members are constantly discussing ways to improve the program, writing grants and making solicitations to area corporations. They also spend copious amounts of time making presentations at clubs and organizations throughout the county spreading the word about Care and Share.

Donations flow in from all parts of the county from individuals, service groups, schools, churches, Sunday school classes, mom and pop businesses, as well as some of the larger corporations. Care and Share trees are set up at banks and churches.

Some organizations have established annual fund-rasing events for Care and Share. The Festival of Trees, which was held last month in Spring Grove is a perfect example. That event brought $5,472.50 into Care and Share coffers.

A core group of individuals has been spearheading the Care and Share effort for more than two decades. Although The Argus, as well as the other newspapers in the county, have featured some of these hard-working people in check-passing photos when major donations are given, I'd like to publicly thank the following ladies for their many years of compassionate hard work.

The Care and Share committee includes president Bonnie Goetzinger, vice president Polly Heberlein, secretary-treasurer Jill Hahn and committee members Jan Palen, Iyla Mulvenna, Lisa Massman and Naomi Fruechte. These ladies, along with countless volunteers, and the scores of generous folks who make donations every year are responsible for helping to provide a better Christmas to so many people.

And isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Here's hoping you have a blessed Christmas!

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Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com