This year will mark the 76th year for the Holmes Christmas Club that was started in that small Wright County town years ago. The club brings together people of all ages from all across the county to give back to others.
A few weeks ago, they held their biggest event of the year, their annual auction. This year, individuals, organizations and businesses donated hundreds of items, from gifts cards and baked goods to quilts and beautiful décor. The auction functions as the Club’s major fundraiser throughout the year. Lisa Kluss, a Holmes board member, said this year, they were pleased that the auction brought in over $26,000. She also added they have also been getting hundreds of dollars in donations in the weeks since.
With those funds and others they receive throughout the year, Holmes Christmas Club contributes to several causes and groups throughout the county. They donate to the local food pantries and the Spirit of Giving charity. They give to every church in Wright County and offer $1000 scholarships for all three county schools. They give to Easter Egg Hunts and the school nurses funds at the three schools as well as backpack programs.
One of their biggest efforts is the fruit and goody bags they put together before Christmas. In early December, dozens of volunteers descend on Chappy’s in Clarion to pack bags with fruit, snacks and candy. The club filled over 1,200 bags this year plus tubs with fruit and snacks. Kluss says these bags go mostly to elderly and widows and widowers throughout the county. Beth Robinson Menges, whose parents helped start the fruit basket event decades ago, says, “This is just a real feel good thing to do for the holidays.”
Another major charitable effort that Kluss asserts most of the club’s funds go towards, is assisting folks in the county with a variety of expenses in their time of need. This might be for medical expenses for someone diagnosed with cancer, helping with pharmacy bills or offering them gas cards for traveling to treatments. They sometimes give gift cards if people should find themselves struggling with groceries. Kluss adds, “We even help with the occasional heating bills or just plain hard times.” Such assistance is usually short-term when board members hear that people are in need of extra support for one reason or another. She also emphasized that they keep all assistance private.
All this charitable work requires lots of help, which Kluss is proud to say they receive from various groups. The C-G-D Middle School Peer Helpers help deliver fruit bags and worked the auction this year. Various members from the Church of Christ also distribute goody bags in addition to volunteers in each town who organize deliveries. Kluss says though that they are always eager for more volunteers, especially when it comes to packing the fruit baskets every year.
Holmes Christmas Club is also happy to add to their fruit and goody bag distribution list. Kluss encourages people to contact her if they know of names that need to be added to the 2020 list. She can be reached at 515-851-0063 or lisa.k.kluss@gmail.com.
