Homer’s longtime community donation program “Share the Spirit” returns for the Christmas holidays.
The program provides holiday food and gift boxes to families in need of financial assistance. It was started 32 years ago and some of the original founders still contribute to the organization of the program. One key contributor is Shari Daugherty and she also identified DeeDee Shoultz and Fran Van Sandt as residents who have been involved since the inception of the program.
Families in need can apply for holiday food and gift boxes by reaching out to local service agencies or churches. The organization can also be reached at 907-235-7466. Applications for the food box program are available until Dec. 13.
For community members interested in donating to the program, several local businesses have gift trees in place where people can choose a gift request tag. The tag will provide further instructions on what to do with the purchased gift. These businesses include Ulmer’s, The Homer Bookstore, Kachemak Gear Shed, Homer’s Jeans and the Captain’s Toy Chest. Once a gift is purchased and wrapped, the tag from the tree is taped to the box and the box is returned to the tree it came from.
To start the season, Homer Elks Lodge will host a community spaghetti feed and silent auction. The event will take place from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10. This event is a major source of funds for the community-based organization, according to Jean Adams, contributor to the program.
In addition to the gift trees and spaghetti feed, basic monetary donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 3218, Homer, AK, 99603, or may be dropped off at the Homer branch of Wells Fargo.
Share the Spirit also coordinates an “Adopt-a-Family” program structured so that donors can provide food and gifts to an entire household anonymously. The donors do not need to be solo but can be coordinated groups of friends, family or co-workers. Baskets for the Adopt-a-Family program can be dropped off in the Homer High School commons when the organization is scheduled to arrange food boxes from Dec. 20-23. Boxes are not delivered; they must be retrieved from the high school at a scheduled time.
