The push is on to make sure this holiday season is a happy one for all
mountain families, as a slew of local groups gather non-perishable food and
new, unwrapped toys for the community Christmas basket program. Carol
Norgard, who is coordinating the Mt. Hood Lions Club’s Christmas Toy and
Food Drive Dinner, noted that the baskets help approximately 100 families,
totaling approximately 400 people, each year.

“Everything we get goes back to the community,” Norgard said, noting that
other groups involved with the program include the Welches Schools and the
Hoodland Fire District (HFD). “We have a really good community group up
here, in general.”

Norgard noted that the program also started including food for dogs and cats
about three years ago, and that there are no questions asked to those who
apply for a box.

“It definitely makes me feel good that we’re helping a group of people that
need help over a season where at least they know they have food for
Christmas time and when school is out,” she said, adding that the gifts that
are included make a big difference for many people who wouldn’t be able to
afford them otherwise. “That’s a killer for them, when it comes to their
children.”

The Lion’s Club dinner will offer beef, ham and all the trimmings, with tickets
priced at $15 at the door and $12 pre-sale at the Barlow Trail Roadhouse,
Welches Building Supply and the Welches branch of Clackamas County Bank.
The event starts with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. on
Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Lions Club, 24730 E. Woodsey Way.

Norgard added that donations will still be accepted after the dinner and for
anyone interested in doing so to call the HFD main station at 503-622-3256
and ask for Carol or Kelli.

Welches Schools Principal Kendra Payne noted that the school both benefits
from and contributes to the program, with applications for baskets going out
to all families.

The school’s ambassadors hold a food drive that features a friendly
competition between each classroom and grade level for who can bring in the
most food. The school’s food drive starts the week after Thanksgiving break
and goes until the winter break, with all donations picked up by the HFD and
go directly to the food baskets.

Sign up sheets for Hoodland Community Christmas Basket program are
available at the Welches School, Clackamas County Bank’s Hoodland branch,
Welches Mountain Building Supply, the Welches Library and the Hoodland Fire
District’s main station. Giving trees, offering area residents to get a present
for a child, are also available at those locations, as well as McKenzie Dental.
Robert Kelly of McKenzie Dental noted that the business has been
participating in the program for three years.

“Everyone at McKenzie Dental participates to do our part to help out in the
community,” he wrote in an email to the Mountain Times. “We focus on
children in our area and have the help of Alison Bradley, Carol Norgard, and
Hoodland fire department.”

Pick up for the baskets will be from 4-6 p.m. Friday, Dec 22 or 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23, at the Mt. Hood Lions Club.