Sponsors Still Needed for Share the Spirit Program

(KNSI) — Catholic Charities St. Cloud is still short sponsors for its Share The Spirit campaign.

A post on its Facebook page says nine sponsors are still needed.

The program matches a gift giver with families who will share three wants and three needs for each person. Executive Director Steve Pareja says most are not looking for extravagant gifts.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as warm socks, gloves, hats, mittens. You know, it’s interesting, sometimes you see that the the needs are socks and gloves, and then the wants are towels. It’s not, I want an Xbox, I want to PlayStation. There’s just these these things that these people are needing to help themselves get through these tough times.”

Sponsors are asked to spend between $70 to $75 for each family member, but Pareja adds many hands make light work, so pooling resources is always an option. “What’s happened in the past is a lot of times businesses come together, they create a team, they will sponsor a family or two or three, and then, they work together and bring the gifts to the office. We’re seeing some of that return. But there still are some businesses and corporate-type entities that aren’t back in the office full time. So we’re seeing that lag a little bit. We’re calling out right now to any corporate organization, individuals, civic groups, church groups, book clubs, anyone who wants to come and help these families have a Merry Christmas.”

He says sometimes people are short on time, but they still want to help, so “You can support these families by also making the donations, [and] we have volunteers that will go out and do the shopping for you. So if you want to sponsor a family, but you don’t have the time or the capacity to go out and do the shopping, you can make that monetary donation and we’ll make sure that those gifts are purchased on your behalf.” To make a designated donation, click here.

To sign up and sponsor a family, click here. You can also enroll over the phone by calling Melissa Blair at 320-229-4580.

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