The ACC Volunteer Center was bustling with activity, as generous members of the community dropped off their presents full of hand-picked items such as gloves, coats, hats and boots for children in the community.

All told, this year the Volunteer Center’s Christmas Wish List program provided essential items to 400 children and teens in Alpena and surrounding areas.

With 40 to 50 volunteers collecting and sorting presents, some wrapped and some needing wrapping, the assembly line of unpaid workers produced an energy fueled by the spirit of giving.

The volunteers do it because they care about the community, and want to make sure everyone has a nice holiday.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Here are some of the sorting volunteers with Alpena Community College’s Volunteer Center Christmas Wish List Program. In this photo, back row from left to right, are Dede Westenbarger, Jerry Niedbala, Karen Niedbala, ACC Vice President Richard Sutherland, ACC President Don MacMaster, Ann Burton, Gerald Lucas, and Marilyn Burton. Middle row from left to right are Renae Belanger-Dault, Kelly Martin, Marge Zajkowski, Lois Straley, and Janet Lucas. Front row from left to right (holding sign) are Karen Werth, Taylor Murray, Shirley Jones, Sally VanMassenhove, Barb Cercone, Ruth McEwen, and Volunteer Center Director Cathy Abraham.

“I would do this again,” said first-time Wish List volunteer Sally VanMassenhove. “I was amazed with all the gifts. It’s very rewarding.”

Shirley Jones has been volunteering here for two years. She is on the lead committee for the sort day, held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 10 this year.

“We want to help each other out, especially this time of year, when people are in need,” Jones said of why she volunteers with the program. “The families specify things that are needed, and some of them are cleaning supplies, toothpaste, deodorant, a lot of winterwear, that otherwise they don’t know if they would have. So it’s rewarding to say you’re helping the community, and surrounding community, because it’s not just Alpena.”

The program helps people in Alpena, Alcona, Presque Isle and Montmorency counties, among others.

Other lead committee members who organize the sort day are Gerald Lucas and Ann Burton.

“I’ve been doing this for between 20 and 25 years,” Lucas said.

He has watched the program blossom over the years.

“There’s been a big increase,” Lucas said. “When I started, it was probably about half of this. … Other communities got involved, so we can take care of all the kids that we can.”

ACC student Taylor Murray was helping out for the first time this year, and really enjoying the experience.

“I’m in Phi Theta Kappa, so this is one of my requirements, but when I walked in here I was shocked to see how many people were actually volunteering and how many people gave back,” Murray said.

Phi Theta Kappa is the national honor society at ACC.

“I helped sort a little bit, and I helped wrap and put the presents in the bags,” Murray added.

The Christmas Wish List program is not competing with any toy programs, because they only seek to fill needs, such as clothing, outerwear, personal products, cleaning supplies and food.

“This is 41 years that the Christmas Wish List program has been in effect,” Volunteer Center Director Cathy Abraham said. “It is the longest running program under the Volunteer Center here at ACC.”

She said it is all possible because of the generosity of the donors.

“We have very generous donors that are matched” with names of recipients, she said. “We have a lot of new donors this year. It’s from word-of-mouth, they find out exactly how it all works.”

She explained the process.

“Each year I receive names from schools and agencies of families that need a helping hand during the holidays,” she said. “And, once those names are received, those are the only recipients that can claim any gifts.”

Abraham said they coordinate with other agencies such as the Salvation Army to make sure recipients are not “double-dipping.”

“The database is monitored very closely,” she explained. “We are good stewards of our donors. So, once that happens, letters go out to our past donors. Then they call and get matched with a recipient. Maybe one name, maybe families. We have companies that call, and they maybe get 10, 15, 20 names.”

So the donors go out and purchase all the items on the recipient list, which includes ages and clothing and shoe sizes, etc.

“Then they drop them off, and our volunteers assist with that,” Abraham noted. “They wrap, and they sort them, and we have another group that comes in, our sorting group, and they actually sort, catalogue and organize by family. Then they are ready to be distributed to the families and the schools.”

She said privacy and confidentiality are maintained throughout the process.

“It is completely anonymous,” Abraham said. “The donor will never know the recipient, and vice versa.”

This program makes a huge difference in the lives of many children and teens in the community.

“When these kids open their gifts on Christmas morning, they think it’s from Santa,” she said.

It has come full circle for some donors.

“I have testimonies from donors that state that at one time, they were on the list as recipients,” she said. “They fell on hard times, and we were here to help them, and now they are donors.”

She gives the community credit for making the program a success.

“This program would not be possible without the community coming together. It’s very successfu,” she said. “We are providing a wonderful service to those less fortunate, and we are warming the holidays for them.”

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