Leadership still sought for this year's Christmas Bureau

Leadership is still being sought for this year’s upcoming Jackson County Ministerial Alliance Christmas Bureau.

The following is a brief history of the Christmas Bureau and some of the changes that have occurred over the years since its formation.

Jackson County’s Christmas Bureau has been serving needy families each holiday season since 1981, it was reported.

The Northeast Kansas Human Resources Association initially implemented Christmas Bureau events for families in Brown, Doniphan, Atchison, Nemaha and Jackson counties that year, according to an article in the Dec. 10, 1981, issue of The Holton Recorder.

The Northeast Kansas Human Resources Association was a non-profit group of social service agencies that served those five counties.

Although created by the human resources association, the Christmas Bureau in Jackson County was organized locally through the Northeast Kansas Community Action Program (NEK-CAP) from 1981 to 2009.

During its first year of existence, families that needed extra assistance during the holidays filled out an application at NEK-CAP’s office and boxes of donated items specifically selected for each family were put together and delivered to the applicants’ homes.

Many of the families were also “adopted” by area organizations, churches and individuals that agreed to take over the responsibility of filling the families’ boxes with gifts and food.

In 1981, donations sought included money, canned goods, blankets and new or used toys, as well as food for a Christmas dinner.

One of the goals of the bureau was to prevent the abuse that sometimes occurs when a family goes from one charitable group to another soliciting gifts while other needy families receive nothing, according to the article.

In its eighth year, 183 families were “adopted” and more than 400 additional families were served by the bureau, according to a report in The Recorder.

In 1990, 657 applications were accepted that included 2,099 people.

In the early 1990s, the Christmas Bureau “store” was set up in an area church each year to allow families to “shop” for Christmas gifts. The store was previously set up as a two-day event. St. Dominic’s Parish Hall hosted the event in 1992, and Trinity Lutheran Church hosted it in 1999.

In 1993, organizers of the Christmas Bureau set a goal to gift two toys per child, one gift per adult, one item of clothing for each family member and a basket of food for Christmas dinner. Winter coats were also available to individuals who needed them.

The Christmas Bureau was hosted at Evangel United Methodist Church’s Family Life Center in 2000. The church has served as the home for the Christmas Bureau every year since then and has been operated as just a one-day event for many years.

In 2005 and 2006, NEK-CAP partnered with Toys For Tots to collect toys for the store.

In 2009, NEK-CAP partnered with the Jackson County Ministerial Alliance to provide the event, and the following year, the JCMA and Evangel partnered to organize the store.

In 2011, the event expanded and began offering essential items and pharmacy cards to seniors and disabled members of the community. In addition, bicycles were added to the store, and volunteers were on hand to help gift wrap the items in time for Christmas.

Last year, instead of collecting various essential items to compile into bags for each family, volunteers sought bags from the public that were already full of the items.

Based on a list of items sought, more than 300 bags stuffed with soap, shampoos, toilet paper and other necessities were donated, saving volunteers times.

In 2014, a total of 762 families were served by the Christmas Bureau.

Needy families and individuals have always been required to fill out an application in order to qualify for the Christmas Bureau. Participants were required to attach a copy of a Women, Infants and Children (WIC) receipt (for children ages five and younger) and either a copy of a free and reduced form from school or verification of food stamp assistance (for school-aged children) with their applications.

Senior citizens and adults with disabilities also needed to provide proof of a limited income, such as a copy of an income tax statement, monthly bank statement, Envision card or proof of monthly income.

Anyone or any group or organization interested in volunteering as the lead coordinator for the Christmas Bureau is encouraged to contact a local pastor or any member of the Jackson County Ministerial Alliance.