By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Since 1995, Mountain Helping Hands has been reaching out to residents of Running Springs, Arrowbear and Green Valley Lake with boxes of food for their Thanksgiving dinner.
On Nov. 26, the boxes labeled with each family’s number were lined up on tables at the Hootman Center. Dixi Willemse, who heads up Helping Hands, checked off each family as they came to pick up their turkey, potatoes, onion, celery, yams, rolls, butter, gravy mix, rolls, butter, pie and whipped topping. This year there were 119 families who participated.
The boxes also included a Thanksgiving letter, telling the families that they are “known, seen and loved.”
Willemse is grateful to the Arrowbear Fire Department which provides them with the boxes. It used to be a scramble, she said, trying to get boxes from local supermarkets.
All the food is purchased. The Golden Oaks Senior Citizens gave Helping Hands $7,000 toward the Thanksgiving distribution. They will also, Willemse noted, give them $7,000 for Christmas.
At Christmas, Helping Hands gives away similar food to Thanksgiving, with the addition of some staples like macaroni and cheese, soup, cereal, rice and pasta. They also put up trees at the post office and the bank with stars on them, asking folks to purchase gifts for local children. Each star has the child’s age and gender as well as a wish list. They also put up gold stars for seniors, who receive warm socks, gloves, beanies and blankets.
Families sign up for the Thanksgiving and Christmas distributions through Charles Hoffman Elementary School, the local churches and the local fire departments.
This Thanksgiving letter was included in the boxes. (Photo by Mary-Justine Lanyon)
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