Tuesday - December 22: The Wellsville Lions Club got started 31 years ago. Long known for their benevolence shortly afterwards they started their Care & Share Christmas program. That particular program has a two pronged mission. One is to provide a generous food basket to folks that struggle to put food on the table and the other is to give at least one Santa present to children. This is the Lions Club 26th year for Care & Share.
Tuesday evening we witnessed the preparation of the food baskets in the WHS Band Room. After 25 years experience they got it down to a very stream lined proficient process. With Club members and other volunteers they had an assembly line going. Tuesday evening they were putting together mostly non-perishables. Delivery day was scheduled for Wednesday. In the morning they were picking up jugs of milk and hams to finish up the packing. They even had one fellow organizing the boxes in zones for the deliveries.
Lions Club V.P. Gary Malone told us funds are raised year long from all around the Village. Darlene & Tammy from the Dairy Queen have been helpful for years now. WPD Officer Marsha Eisenhart was able to collect $500 from other clubs around the Village. They have tag days and donations from individuals. Center Pharmacy, the EL City Hospital, First Christian Church, and the deacons at the Riverside Presbyterian Church are among some of the other donars.
Malone related that this year they had 180 names for the food baskets and Santa gave them a list of 200 children for the toys. It's a labor of love steeped in tradition. It's neighbor helping neighbor. It just one more thing that makes Wellsville some place special.
Thanks to all that made it possible to keep this traditional part of the Christmas spirit going.
ole nib
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