ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WBAY) – Bridget Feeny of Green Bay is simply grateful, and she can’t wait to surprise her 10-year-old daughter.
“This is wonderful that people give, the community, to the less fortunate children. I’m very appreciative for this program,” Feeny said.
The Salvation Army’s annual Christmas distribution kicked off Tuesday in Ashwaubenon.
The three-day event is being held in a new location this year at Bayside Marketplace off Oneida St. after years at Shopko Hall and the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena.
Over the course of three days, 1,700 area families will be picking out Christmas gifts for 4,300 children.
“Families come in. They’ve already signed up to receive gifts. They get matched with their shopper, and then there’s smiles as they find just those perfect toys for the children,” Nan Pahl, Salvation Army Director of Social Services, said.
You’ll remember our Toys for Tots Last Call filled the WBAY Building lobby like never before last week, and that was just a sample of all the generous donations throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
Thanks to a tremendous outpouring of community support, each family at Brown County’s distribution can pick out two gifts per child.
They also receive a family game, a stuffed animal, stocking stuffers and some books.
“This is amazing what the community does for these children.”
More than 700 volunteers take part to make the distribution run smoothly.
Mandi Wilke says helping out is a pleasure and a gift.
“Extremely humbling to be reminded that there are people out there that are just doing the best they can to get by. They’ve got a lot of kids and just trying to find the perfect gift for them and create some meaning for them. It’s just good to be reminded of what we have,” said Wilke, a volunteer shopper who helps families find that perfect gift.
“The goal is just to make Merry Christmas memories for the families,” Pahl said.
