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Charity provides Christmas dinner to those in need

Bountiful baskets of goodwill and holiday food filled the Legion Park shelter house yesterday where the Wide Awake Circle of the King’s Daughters gave away Christmas baskets to needy families.

The local charity presented 125 baskets in total to area residents, including those delivered to Cheyenne Villa and Sioux Villa, with help from the city street department. Dola Witters, current member and former president of the group thanked the members of the street department who use their trucks to deliver the food to the two locations.

“They love doing it,” Witters said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”

Volunteers delivered around 40 baskets to Cheyenne Villa and around to 25 Sioux Villa. The rest were available for pickup at the park shelter house from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday. The group supplied around the same number of baskets to area families last year.

“It’s very heartwarming,” said Susan Narjes a new member of the group. “Not all of us are of the same backgrounds. Some of us are very blessed and we need to share those blessings.”

In addition to the regular group members—all women—many husbands and family members volunteered to assist yesterday in carrying the basket.

“A lot of good is happening today,” Witters said.

Baskets consist of all the things a family might need for a Christmas dinner, which could include ham or turkey, milk, a pie, bread and stuffing in addition to much more. This year, the King’s Daughter’s received a donation of Girl Scout cookies for the baskets.

The group gives away three sizes of boxes depending on the size of the family in need.

Along with the food baskets the group also supplied mitten sacks which could contain mittens, scarves, caps, tooth paste and toothbrushes.

Witters’ favorite part of this time of year is seeing the excitement on the faces of those who receive the baskets, especially the children.

“It warms your heart to see the families that do need,” Witters said.

The King’s Daughters are aware that there are many more people and families in the area who might be in need, but there are multiple additional organizations in the area who supply holiday meals as well. The groups try to cross reference so no one is left out, but also so the charities aren’t delivering more food to one location than the family needs.

Norma Perkins, a longtime member of the group thanked the community for being so supportive and said she knows people like to help locals.

“It takes a village for a town to be functional,” said group member Peggy Langley.

Many community members would go without a Christmas meal if it weren’t for groups like theirs, many volunteers agreed.

“There’s a big need in this community,” said Vice President Kim Phillips.

The King’s Daughters purchases the food with donation money from Safeway and Sonny’s Superfoods. The group sent out around 200 letters asking for donations in the beginning of September, and received a good response this year, Witters said.

The Wide Awake Circle of the King’s Daughter’s is one of Sidney’s oldest charity organizations, if not its oldest. The group provides various types of assistance for those in the area. The King’s Daughters might contribute to rent, utilities or medical bills.

The group attempts to help people who might not qualify for assistance from other groups or programs.

Christmas baskets are the King’s Daughter’s biggest project of the year. Group members have been carrying on this charitable Christmas tradition for more than 100 years.

 

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