CLINTON — The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program will once again lead the charge to distribute items to families and children in need this holiday season.
RSVP heads up the Holiday Network program and has done so for over 30 years, RSVP Director Lynee Burken said. The Holiday Network program was developed because there were multiple holiday programs, with many serving the same people, Burken said. Social agencies partnered to make sure the county was making the best use of resources and that everyone was getting taken care of, Burken said.
The Holiday Network puts together multiple items for families in need, including gifts and food boxes.
“The biggest piece that we put together is the gifts and the food boxes for the families,” Burken said. “That’s the main part. And we’ve got a lot of organizations here in town who really help us with that. And then, as of right now, we’ve got 339 families signed up and 912 kids to help out for the Holiday Network, that piece of it.”
RSVP also works with outside organizations and volunteers to provide socks and underwear, hats and scarves and to deliver gifts to senior citizens in town, she said.
The need this year is consistent with the need in past years, Burken said.
“We kind of thought maybe with COVID and stuff, things would kind of pick up,” Burken said. “And the numbers maybe ticked up a little bit but not a whole lot. Which is good. Which means that the extra supports that are being put out there must be working and helping.”
They do have more tags on the tree at the RSVP office this year than in past years due to some organizations taking less tags than they did in previous years, she said.
“We do have a few more names than what we typically do here at our office just because some offices didn’t take as much starting last year just because of COVID and not having as many people coming in and out of the building,” Burken said. “So this year they kind of kept with what they had last year. So they’re not taking quite as many tags. So we’ve got a few extras here but with everybody’s support and people taking the tags, we’ll get them taken care of in time.”
Distribution is scheduled the week of Dec. 13. Everyone receiving items from RSVP will get a letter in the mail with a certificate with a specific date and time to pick up their items, she said. Individuals are allowed to have a family member pick up the items for them as long as they bring a signed note on the back of the certificate, Burken said. The note must state who is picking up the items, she said.
If anyone is not able to pick up their items at their designated time, they are encouraged to contact RSVP so they can schedule a different time for pickup, Burken said.
“We do work around that but they need to call us before the day of because we’re not going to be here,” Burken said. “We’re going to be at the event. So call in advance.”
A representative of the RSVP office can be reached at 243-7787.
