Imagine being a child hearing your friends talking about what they expect for Christmas — only to wake up Dec. 25 to find no gifts of your own.
That empathetic thought is one reason why sixth-grader Ben Kriesanc said he was excited to volunteer Monday sorting and packing for the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund at the former JC Penney store in the FairOaks Mall.
“It also makes me feel good about myself, knowing that I did a good thing,” said Kriesanc, one of about 11 members of the CSA Lincoln basketball team who volunteered to help the Cheer Fund.
The Lincoln Huskies usually practice on Mondays, but coach Shelby Brubaker said he wanted to instill life lessons in his young team, such as becoming a positive force in their community.
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“Ten years from now, these boys won’t remember missing a basketball practice,” Brubaker said. “But they will remember coming here and helping others.”
The Huskies were among more than 70 individuals who volunteered their time Monday to help the Cheer Fund prepare for Delivery Day, which will be Saturday, Dec. 14.
Among them was 10-year-old Levi Tobias. “The fun in giving presents is seeing someone’s reactions,” said the Rockcreek Elementary School student. “Let’s say that if I give something to my little brothers and they really like it, it’s just amazing to see their faces. I know these may be the only presents some of these kids will get this year. It makes me grateful for what I have.”
A number of Central Middle School students who joined Central’s Builder’s Club, which works to help the community, were also sorting and packing toys. Later this holiday season, the group will be making Christmas cards and caroling at local nursing homes, said 14-year-old member Colton Utterback.
Central students also held a bake sale for the volunteers to raise money to buy books for recipients, Cheer Fund co-chairman Ben Noblitt said.
“I think the word got out that Santa Claus was going to be here, so that motivated a lot of people to come,” Noblitt said of Monday night’s turnout.
But 70 was not even close to the record volunteer turnout, according to Cheer Fund co-chairman Cory Hampton. About 140 volunteers all turned up during one night last year, he said.
That includes at least one family who has made volunteering for the Cheer Fund a part of their holiday tradition.
Back in the 1960s, Ernest Jaggers would accompany his father on delivering Cheer Fund gifts. When his father got older, Jaggers would make the deliveries accompanied by his daughter, Shannon Krebbs and her husband, Randy Krebbs.
When you add on the couple’s children, there are three generations of the same family who return year-after-year to volunteer for the Cheer Fund, Jaggers said.
Great deals/great donors
As far as toy quantity and quality, Noblitt and Hampton are delighted with their latest finds. Last weekend, they were able to acquire hundreds of quality, name-brand toys at an average price of $6.18 per toy at an Indianapolis outlet.
“One of the toys we got was selling online for $28, but we were able to purchase plenty of them for $8.99,” Noblitt said. “It’s hard to pass up deals like that.”
Just hours before Monday’s packing session began, Cheer Fund representatives went shopping with members of Friendship Wheels, a club for teenage bicycle enthusiasts, as well as Jason Major, a manager with Cummins Inc., Noblitt said.
During that shopping trip, Major purchased about $500 worth of bicycles — and then nearly $2,000 worth of toys, he said.
Cummins employees have also manufactured nearly 40 games called “Yard Yahtzee” to give away to the older kids, Hampton said. It’s essentially regular Yahtzee, except it has 4-inch by 4-inch squares for dice and a bucket for a shaker.
There have also been a number of generous financial contributions from businesses and individuals, Noblitt said. Besides Cummins, other notable corporate contributors include Centra Credit Union and Toyota Material Handling.
Uncertain need
By Nov. 15, the Cheer Fund had created 333 gift boxes for children whose families applied for assistance. But within the next 10 days, the names of at least 300 more youngsters will be placed on the list, Noblitt said. Additional names will be added through Dec. 9, and the gift boxes will be delivered on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14, he said.
Since the organization gave assistance to nearly 1,500 Bartholomew County children last year, Hampton says it’s possible the amount of requested assistance might be down from last year.
But it’s also possible the United Way of Bartholomew County, which serves as a clearing house for holiday assistance, is spreading out holiday assistance requests to other seasonal charities such as Shop With A Cop or Toys For Tots, he said.
“The last two weeks might hit a surge, and we may be right back up to where we normally are,” Hampton said.
Delivery Day
The Cheer Fund remains optimistic that they will be able to use their new headquarters for loading gift boxes the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14. It is adjacent to the north side of the new Evolution Training Center at 2670 Verhulst St. in the Columbus Airpark area on the north side.
While the structure, which is still under construction, doesn’t have windows or doors, it does have a roof that will protect the gift boxes in case of inclement weather, Hampton said.
“We’re not too worried about heat, because we can just bundle up more,” Hampton said. “But we need to keep the gift boxes out of the elements,” he said.
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Due to new expenses, organizers of the Columbus Firemen’s Cheer Fund says they are most in need of financial contributions. Donations can be dropped off at any Columbus fire station designated for the Cheer Fund.
The sorting and boxing of toys for the Columbus Firemens Cheer Fund will resume after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But it may only last one week, since the final names are scheduled to be provided to the charity on Dec. 9.
Sorting and boxing takes place each Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening from 6 until 9 p.m. inside the former JCPenny store at Fair Oaks Mall.
Volunteers are also encouraged to deliver gift boxes the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14. At this time, the organization plans to load the gifts at their new headquarters under construction in the Columbus Airpark area.
The facility is adjacent to the north side of the new Evolution Training Center at 2670 Verhulst St.
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