For many in Andover, the holiday season is not just about getting presents and spending money on their own families. Hundreds of residents are opening wallets to help those less fortunate.
Pike School and the New England Document Center in Brickstone Square collect general gifts for a Giving Tree at Lazarus House, according to coordinator Julie Martin.
Gay Bird of Andover manages Project Bethlehem at Lazarus House. That involves coordinating over 300 donors with some 500 needy families in the course of three weeks, Bird wrote in an email.
Liz Elowe, also of Andover, does the intake for recipients and also calls donors.
Project Bethlehem reports that the number of families living at or below the poverty level in Lawrence is 27 percent. The weekly food pantry at Lazarus House gives a week's worth of food to 840 families and the number continues to grow.
Heads of household have to make the choice to pay for rent, heat and transportation before food, according to Bird. Many clients are employed, but still finding it is hard to make ends meet, Bird wrote.
Additionally, housing programs are at capacity and gifts not only help those who are stuck in the poverty cycle, but also those who have found themselves unexpectedly without income or housing before Christmas, Bird wrote. People can visit lazarushouse.org to learn different ways to help.
Several churches in Andover get involved with various agencies that help needy families. At St. Augustine Church, parishioners pluck an angel off a Christmas tree and buy the gifts written on the angel's wings. Then, the gift is wrapped and that angel serves as a holiday tag on the gift.
Family Service Inc. in Lawrence benefits from the abundant generosity by members of Andover's Christ Church.
"We serve some of the neediest clients in Lawrence," Mary Lyman of Family Service and an Andover selectman wrote in an email.
Carol Reid of Andover is a Family Service Inc. Board of Directors member who manages the project. FSI puts 100 names in wooden stockings hanging on a wooden mantle at the church, all made by Reid's woodworking-loving husband, Allen Townsend, a member of the church's Men's Ministry.
Christ Church parishioners take the names from the stockings and have three weeks to buy the gifts. Reid's team spends a day checking the lists to be sure that each child receives a gift wrapped and decorated with handmade hats and mittens. Some older church members and former members help out by knitting these garments for the project. Gift delivery is set for Tuesday, Dec. 13.
"There is usually a mad rush to the colorful stockings on the Sunday they are available for people to choose a name," Reid said. "We have several families who take a child's name for every child that they have...Children as well as the parents participate in the gift shopping and giving."
Each Family Service child, no matter how old, also gets a book. Reid explained that former librarian and church member Carol Plate of Boxford, collects books all year. Her team's annual book wrap event was yesterday, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at her home.
Reid started the this Christmas connection four years ago for 60 families. The project has grown and the church's enthusiasm has grown with it.
In a way, it's bittersweet, as most kids do not list toys on their lists. Rather, many kids need warm clothing, so coats and boots are top items, Reid said. "That's a little sad," she said.
But, church members are known to add items to liven up those lists. Toy surprises and a new book can make almost any child smile on Christmas morning.
