by Melora Neaves, Stevensville
They say it takes a village, and on December 22, we saw it. I had posted on FB’s Moving Stevensville Forward page about wanting help finding somewhere that took donations to be gifted for Christmas since the Clothes Closet wasn’t doing it this year. A woman I did not know said she’d help organize an event if I was willing. My response wasn’t immediate, but the idea kept growing, and I realized this was something I’d really enjoy doing.
The woman who said she’d help put it together, Jackie Pierce, is the wife of our newest police officer in Stevensville, Christopher Pierce. They’d had a Shop with a Cop at the town hall a couple of weeks prior. She emailed the mayor asking if we could use the space. He was happy to help, and from that offer I was able to start advertising.
I created an event on Facebook, and immediately offers for donating and volunteering started pouring in. And this is where the thanking begins. Thank you, Mayor Michalson, for letting us use the Town Hall, it was the perfect sized space! Thank you to the Bitterroot Star for running a beautiful ad that was within my budget! Thank you to the police department who helped and straightened our sign! Thank you to all the helpers that set-up, wrapped gifts, helped children shop (that was my favorite part!), and helped clean up at the end of a long day. But most of all, thank you to the donators, you went over the top! We had brand new gifts, we had so many lovely, clean items for the whole household, and we had TOYS for all ages! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
What truly drove me to want to do this was the opportunity to see joy on just one child’s face, but I was rewarded by seeing it over and over again. For many of these children, I think it was the first time they’d been able to give a gift to their elders. Their excitement was contagious! For some, seeing a gift wrapped was a new experience, and they were fascinated.
But the greatest gift we received was seeing whole families being able to provide a Christmas for everyone. One woman, with tears on her face, told a helper on her way out that now her family was able to have Christmas, wow! We had a rough count of 225 to 250 people. That’s pretty amazing given the two weeks we had to put this together. It truly shows the need is there. Yes, we will do this again, hopefully in the same spot.
As a child, I was fascinated by everything about the holidays, and Santa’s Secret Shop filled a hole I didn’t know was there, and I am so grateful, and proud of my village.