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Gift Closet continues to brighten people's lives through giving |
Santa might scuttle down
the chimney to bring his gifts but Anita Baker, 72, and Annamae
Hoskins, 65, one-up him on a weekly basis. They have to climb up and
down a pull-down staircase in order to bring gifts to those who
would normally not receive any on their birthday.
The two ladies are members of the Church of the Nazarene in Newberg
and started leading the Gift Closet about three and a half years ago
with the help of the pastor’s wife, Carrie Nichols, who handles the
paperwork.
“The gift
closet is one way to show the love of Christ in Newberg,” Baker
said.
The organization collect toys for both sexes and all age groups.
The caveat is that the church only takes new items and won’t accept
violent games. The Gift Closet services everyone from infant through
the elderly.
The group collects, stores, inventories and wraps the gifts.
Distribution is done through Love INC (In the Name of Christ). On a
weekly basis Love INC sends them a list of upcoming birthdays that
includes name, sex and age. Baker and Hoskins select a gift
appropriate for the person and wrap it. Each bundle they assemble
includes the wrapped gift, a card, a New Testament Bible and a card
from the church.
Occasionally, most often in the case of children, there will be a
special request which the pair will try to accommodate within the
limits of their inventory. “We carefully and thoughtfully select
them,” Baker said. The hardest gifts to select are those going to
teen-agers because they’re never quite sure what the popular items
are.
Their most current need is for sports items. They would like to receive
soccer balls, footballs, baseballs and the like as they are almost
completely out of those.
“Gifts should not be extravagant,” Baker said. Toiletries items are
often a good idea as well as Leatherman’s tool for adult men. The
pair has also gone shopping with cash donations from people who
didn’t know what to buy. Of course “wrapping paper is nice too,”
Baker said.
Anyone interested in donating new gifts can drop them off at Love
INC, 209 S. Main St. People worshiping at the Church of the Nazarene
can drop off gifts in a box by the office. |
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From
Aug. 11, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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