OXBOW - The Oxbow Community Emergency Support Program is having another busy year, doing their best to ensure every family has a beautiful and festive table for the holidays.
The Christmas hamper campaign is now underway for Oxbow area residents who may need it.
Brenda Miller, a member of the Oxbow Community Emergency Support Program, said the information was put out mid-November, and the demand for hampers seems to be on par with the previous years.
The application deadline is Dec. 10. After that, all needed information will be forwarded to the Southern Plains Co-op in Oxbow to put hampers together and distribute them on Dec. 17.
"This year is the same as last because of COVID. The co-op in town has graciously offered to assemble and distribute the hampers. We have a grocery list, and they put everything together for us and keep the hampers there and distribute them," Miller explained.
"The difference in the last two years is that we don't accept any food donations. In previous years, we would have food drives, and we would have food donations, and we would then get together and separate all that. And because we're emergency support, this is the only time of the year that we handle actual food. So we would get together and do that. Now this year, again, we're having the co-op assemble them, so we're only accepting cash donations as opposed to food donations."
Hampers will be distributed a bit in advance so that the store could have the work complete before they get into the holiday season rush.
Each hamper will be loaded with about 20 items - everything a family may need from the time they get up to the time they go to bed on Christmas, including turkey, breakfast sausage, orange juice, milk, potatoes, carrots, eggs, laundry detergent, dish detergent, toilet paper, Kleenex, toothpaste, margarine, stuffing, crackers, gravy, juice, hot chocolate, cereal, Cheese Whiz, peanut butter, pancake mix, syrup, cranberries and jam. There will be something extra for the next few days.
"Because we don't have the extra food that we would always have, which was usually a couple of boxes, we do gift cards for them to use for groceries in the new year," Miller noted.
The Oxbow Community Emergency Support Program doesn't usually have any fundraising, particularly aimed at Christmas hampers. Miller said they have people who always donate to keep this help going. And this year, because they are going through the store and because they can't accept food donations, the co-op is going to be accepting cash donations from Dec. 1-15 at all the tills for the Christmas hampers.
The non-profit organization supports the community throughout the year, and they always welcome any kind of financial help.
"Throughout the year we help out with emergency needs for people in our community and we are accepting any kind of financial donation any time of the year," Miller said.
If someone wants to donate to the Oxbow Community Emergency Support Program, they can contact Miller at 306-485-7746 or through a private message on Facebook.
