Share the Spirit: Community members band together to give back

POLSON — A nondescript warehouse on Kerr Dam Road has been transformed into Santa’s workshop as local “elves” volunteer their time to spread holiday cheer for those in need countywide. Share the Spirit is in its 12th year locally, organizing gift buying and presents for area youth who may have gone without this holiday season.

“We work hard at this; it’s a big job,” coordinator Toni Young said as she fielded phone calls from the nonprofit’s home base last week. “We’ve had a lot more kids signed up this year.”

The number of children served is up to 1,300 this year, an incredible amount considering that Share the Spirit has lowered its maximum age of those served from 18 and under to 12 and under. Parents submit an application with details about their children and two wishes, aside from toys, for each. Those requests are put on tags that are attached to small trees and distributed to local businesses. Community members are encouraged to pick up a tag and shop for that child, returning the presents to the Tamsco building space, donated for such use by owner Mike Maddy, once complete.

“We are always begging for a building,” volunteer Cheryl Thomas said. “We need a lot of space.”

Gift bags are then prepared at the building and picked up by parents before Christmas.

Already, Young said more than 100 families have picked up bags in preparation for Saturday’s holiday.

“A lot of us won’t work at the front desk because it can get so emotional for all us,” Young said. “People who come by are so appreciative. It’s pretty cool and very rewarding.”

The high number of recipients makes organization of the gift drive a logistical headache, but Young said the community’s desire to help eases the burden. There used to be numerous organizations holding their own gift drives, but she said the creation of Share the Spirit in 1998 consolidated the efforts. Toys for Tots are distributed through Share the Spirit and the generosity of schools and other groups helps get all those children gifts. Twenty-five students from Mission Middle School visited Wal-Mart last Friday to shop for other children. Groups of two or three students tried to purchase exactly $50 in gifts, principal Jason Sargent said, and topped off the afternoon with lunch and Christmas caroling around St. Ignatius.

“It was a succesful day,” Mission seventh grader Comfort Bolen said.

The local Sheriff’s Deputies Association, under a program known as “Shining Star,” also raised money to shop for Share the Spirit, holding a bake and craft sale last Friday before heading to Wal-Mart on Monday with a group of Polson students to shop for gifts. Sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer Kim Leibenguth took 11 Polson students, parents and other deputies out to Wal-Mart Monday morning to shop for close to 200 children in need. She said the Deputies Association had donated $1,500 for the cause while $750 was raised during Friday’s craft sale. All items sold at the crafts sale were made and donated by Wal-Mart employees.

“We know times are really hard for families right now, so the Deputies Association is trying to do our best to give back to our community,” Leibenguth said. “The best part of the whole thing is to see these kids when they come back to school and to see them smiling because they finally have something new.”

The biggest impression might be on the students who help shop and learn about community from a young age, a foundation they can build on as they grow up, Leibenguth said.

“Our kids want iPods and Droid cell phones when there are kids their age locally who ask for the necessities,” she said. “Last year, a 17-year-old asked for laundry soap, shampoo and body wash, things my kids take for granted. This teaches them how to give, which is what the holidays are all about.”