2009 Help Them To Hope Campaign kicks off
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Saturday, October 10, 2009 8:37 PM PDT
ONTARIO — Although Help Them To Hope is a 12-month a year effort to help those in need, it is most visible during the Christmas Holiday season.
The work, though, to collect the food and other items provided by the program to the downtrodden begins at least two months before Christmas and the 2009 crusade for donations is already going strong.
Drop-boxes will soon appear at various locations in the communities around Eastern Oregon and western Idaho to collect donated non-perishable food items, toys and clothes, which are delivered a growing number of families and individuals.
Agencies will start taking names of people or families needing help Dec. 1.
In his final report on the 2008 campaign, co-chair of HTTH Fran McLean said that 911 families were served, totaling 2,307 individuals, and an estimated $150,000 worth of food, clothing, toys and other Christmas items were delivered.
Deliveries were made to 17 communities, in Oregon and Idaho, as far south as McDermitt and far north as Indian Valley in Idaho and Brogan in Oregon before Christmas. Clothing was given out in late December and January.
“Many thousands of dollars worth of excess food was given to Oregon and Idaho Food Banks,” McLean said.
One worry this year is the continuing down-turn in the economy which has left a lower amount of funds for the Help Them to Hope Committee to start this year’s campaign. Generally, it takes between $40,000 and $50,000 a year and around $100,000 worth of free commodities each year to provide enough food boxes, McLean said.
“This does not include countless hours of free-time, auto expenses, etc,” he said.
To help start this year’s campaign, Help Them to Hope has received $1,000 from a raffel, $3,000 from Festival of Trees and $1,000 donation from Wal-Mart, since the books were closed on 2008.
Two major events which support Help Them To Hope are the “The Festival of Trees,” which will be held from Nov. 25 to Nov. 29 and the annual HTTH concert on Dec. 6.
Another event is the annual Boy Scout Food Drive, with the date to be announced.
“Having a large warehouse and finding a way to increase financial contributions is our big challenge,” McLean said. “It would be great to find a grant to fund the purchase or building of a facility.”
More than 30 people are on the Help Them to Hope committee and anyone interested in becoming involved in the campaign is invited to join the group. The HTTH program will at 10 a.m. Nov. 5, at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.
