Published October 2004

Making season bright for less fortunate
Christmas House’s spirit of giving reaches children across county

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Two months from now, most likely on the eve of Dec.3, a line will begin forming outside the Everett Boys & Girls Club gymnasium. Made up of low-income parents, the line will grow to include hundreds hoping to make the holiday season brighter for their children.

Photo courtesy of Christmas House Thanks to the hard work of Christmas House volunteers, the Everett Boys & Girls Club gymnasium looked like a scene out of Santa’s workshop last year, with bicycles, stuffed animals, clothes and other gift items on display.

And their hope will reside within the gym, which, for a few weeks in December, will be home to the Christmas House store, a place where they can select free clothing and toys in an atmosphere of dignity.

Although it has changed venues from year to year, Christmas House is a place and an organization that has been spreading holiday cheer for Snohomish County families in need since 1981, when founder Roy Fraser began providing toys and essentials to low-income families during the holidays. That first year, more than 400 families received refurbished toys and handmade items, according to the nonprofit group.

In the years since, the number of families served has grown by more than 600 percent, to 2,407 in 2003, with 6,692 children receiving clothing, blankets, toys and personal items, all of it purchased or donated through the efforts of volunteers and community contributions, said Rick Kvangnes, board president.

“Christmas House is 100 percent volunteer; there are no paid staff. We go to great lengths to have things donated and to raise funding,” said Kvangnes, whose own company, Judd & Black, holds an annual golf tournament to support the nonprofit, raising $8,000 in 2003 and $12,000 this year.

In 2003, Christmas House received more than $130,000 in cash donations from individual donors, service groups and businesses, including CityBank, Bank of America, the Children’s Charitable Alliance, Cascade Bank, The Everett Clinic Foundation, the EverTrust Foundation, Everett Port Gardner Rotary, Providence General Foundation and the Medina Foundation, among others.

The community also answered the call to in-kind donations, Kvangnes said, from refurbished bicycles donated by Sharing Wheels and sponsorship of a Teddy Bear Toss and toy drive by the Everett Silvertips to new batteries from Panasonic Corp. and warehouse space donated by Sea-Dog Corp.

“One of the big challenges for Christmas House in the past is that we didn’t have storage. With the warehouse, we are able to purchase all year-round at discount prices,” Kvangnes said.

And they do — shopping cart after shopping cart filled to the brim with toys, coats and other items marked down drastically during the after-holiday sales, said board director Vickie Nysether. Or targeted runs on a deeply discounted item — trips often sparked by a tip from store personnel who believe in the Christmas House cause.

For fellow shoppers, seeing a Christmas House board member in the aisles causes something of a stir — and a heartening generosity, Nysether said.

“We have so many neat stories about buying so many gifts during the Christmas season,” she said, noting that many times, when shoppers learn that the items are for Christmas House, they’ll donate money or buy an item for the nonprofit right there and then.

Another of Christmas House’s challenges over the years has been finding donated space to house the store during the holiday season, Kvangnes said. Earlier this year, however, the Everett Boys & Girls Club and Christmas House reached an agreement making the club’s gym the official “Home of Christmas House” each year through 2008.

“What is really tremendous with the Boys & Girls Club is that we both serve the same communities and families in Snohomish County,” said Kvangnes, noting that the staff of the Everett Boys & Girls Club glimpsed that last year, when the group first donated its gym space to Christmas House.

“It was by far the best facility that Christmas House has had,” he said, noting that the Boys & Girls Club also provided a free year’s membership to any Snohomish County Boys & Girls Club to each child served by Christmas House.

Although preparing for the annual Christmas House store is a yearlong process, activity heats up in early November, when volunteers begin moving inventory and setting up shop.

That activity reaches a fever pitch by opening day, Dec. 3 this year, when numbers are passed out in the morning to the first 160 parents in line. Those who don’t receive a number are asked to try again the next day.

For those who do receive a number, the registration process begins. Only one parent is allowed to shop for a family’s children, and the parent must have custodial rights, Kvangnes said.

The parent is required to show proof of custodial rights for children receiving gifts, of Snohomish County residency and that his or her income is within the poverty guidelines used by Christmas House, which is 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

Once registered, the parent is escorted through the Christmas House store by a volunteer to select clothing and gifts for each child as well as a household item, Christmas ornament or wrapping paper.

The registered parent also can enter a drawing for a chance to win a bicycle, tricycle or wagon as part of Wheels for Kids, a CityBank-sponsored program now going into its third year, Kvangnes said.

“It’s the most heartwarming part (of each day),” said Nysether, noting that during Christmas House 2003 more than 270 children’s “wheels” were given out.

About 40 volunteers are needed daily during Christmas House sessions to act as hosts and hostesses for customers, Kvangnes said. Translators also are needed.

The group’s volunteer base has expanded over the past two years, paralleling the growth of its geographic reach as more families outside of Everett learn about Christmas House, he said. In 2003 alone, the nonprofit served 1,515 families from Everett, with the other 892 families coming from across the county, from Stanwood and Darrington to Lynnwood and Bothell.

But as the number of Christmas House clients grows, so does the challenge of meeting those clients’ needs, said Kvangnes.

“One of our large goals is to serve every family that comes to Christmas House,” he said.

For more information, contact Christmas House by mail at P.O. Box 717, Everett, WA 98206, call 425-338-2273 or go online to www.christmas-house.org.

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