HTTH closes out 2006 charity effort
Monday, February 26, 2007 11:29 AM PST
Jennifer Colton
Argus Observer
Ontario
The 2006 Help Them to Hope campaign was a success, officials said, and volunteers worked to tie up loose ends, looking toward 2007 with a wrap-up meeting Thursday at Four Rivers Cultural Center.
Help Them to Hope is a locally-oriented program designed to bring “Christmas cheer” to struggling families during the holidays, run by area donations and volunteers.
“Mainly we just talked about the things we did and what we could have improved on,” HTTH Chairman Fran McLean said Friday. “The (wrap-up) meeting is just to hear what happened, have a recap.”
During Thursday’s meeting, the Help Them to Hope 2006 Final Report was discussed. The report outlined the number of applications and the number of individuals and families helped by the charity organization.
“This (2006) is probably the biggest year ever,” McLean said. “We had almost 2,000 people receiving help — 1,960 on the report — and I know there were a few after that, so it’s probably a little higher.”
In December, volunteers delivered food boxes to almost 600 families, clothing to more than 1,100 individuals and toys to more than 1,000 children.
The total number of families receiving help from the program topped 930 — compared to 851 in 2005.
“That’s never been up to 900 before,” McLean said. “It’s usually in the 800 range.”
The HTTH board also released a list of 2006 Financial HTTH Highlights, including a $7,000 donation from Hometown Toyota, $5,000 from Woodgrain Molding, $2,000 from Wal-Mart and $2,000 in anonymous private donations. Donations were also listed from Waldo Real Estate, Dr. Carl Thornfeldt, Bank of the Cascades, KSRV, Ontario Ladies Gold Association, PEO Chapter AF-Ontario and Combs Car Corral.
The 2006 HTTH Holiday Concert brought in $1,701 and $1,121 was collected from cash cans at checkstands at area businesses.
The meeting also covered the reserve fund and ongoing donations for the year.
“We also last week sent checks for $2,000 to each Malheur County, Payette County and Washington County food banks,” McLean said. “It’s for them to use for facilities or equipment. I know a couple need increased storage, and they can use it for that as well.”
The next HTTH will be in October — a kickoff of the 2007 campaign will be chosen.
