BATTLE MOUNTAIN - There were 89 families whose Christmas wishes came true this year through the Family Resource Center's Christmas Alert program, an annual event that saw 110 families benefit last year.
Jana Moyes, executive director of the Family Resource Center, said less donations came in this year and that the center was forced to stop taking applications at the cutoff date of Dec. 14. She said that people who tried to turn in applications after the date were turned away but last year the program was able to accept applications up until right before the event.
Moyes said she felt there were less donations because of the state of the economy.
Instead of holiday food baskets, which were given in past years, two boxes of food were given to each family. She said the food that was donated did not consist of traditional Christmas dinner food.
Eighteen families received $100 food vouchers and gifts were given to children ages 12 and under.
Toys and coats were donated by the community. The Corbitt family came through with lots of them. Russ Wright's SkillsUSA students at Battle Mountain High School donated clothes.
Barrick gave $1,500 and Sandru Photography donated $100. Crew B at Barrick donated four children's bikes. Newmont adopted two families.
Nineteen families were adopted. Christ Lutheran Church adopted two families and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted three. The Student Council and National Honor Society at Battle Mountain High School adopted 10 seniors and the Girl Scouts Troop 263 adopted two. Last year, 12 families got adopted.
Lots of volunteers showed up Dec. 23 and 24 to wrap toys, separate the food into boxes and deliver the items.
"A big thank you to the volunteers who came down and helped," Moyes said.
In addition to Moyes, local residents, employees of the Lander County Sheriff's Office and a high school student all pitched in.
Moyes said people were appreciative of the items when they were delivered.
She said she and the volunteers got "lots of hugs, lots of thank yous and lots of God blesses."
The Family Resource Center held a Community Christmas Festival on Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Battle Mountain Civic Center to benefit Christmas Alert. The event raised $475, Moyes said.
The event, which was held in conjunction with the Parade of Lights, included food, vendors, photos with Santa and a marshmallow roast after the parade. Last year, the event raised $500.
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