Kudos & Kindness (Jan. 31, 2021)

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The Holiday Baskets Program, run entirely by volunteers, recently completed its 39th year of providing new gifts, toys, and clothing to 250 families, approximately 1,000 people, in need in our valley. We also gifted $25,000 worth of food gift cards.

As one can imagine, this was a different year of operating since we were not able to utilize the large numbers of volunteers who usually participate. Nevertheless, the response was amazing; more families were adopted than ever before. The monetary contributions were so generous that we have sufficient funds remaining to supply families with additional food gift cards later this winter!

I wish to especially thank our steering committee — Elaine Bonds, Marsha Cook, Kathy Dreher, Elizabeth Parker and Bobbi Teliska — who spent many, many hours and lots of energy matching families with Adopting Angels and making sure all the gift bags were ready on pick up day. We are extremely grateful to Mike Garbarini, who put all the applications online so that we could operate virtually. In addition, we greatly appreciate St. Peter’s Church in Basalt for providing space in which to coordinate and distribute the thousands of gifts.

Anne Blackwell

Chairperson, holidaysketsprogram.com