Shoeboxes full of items and bags full of groceries were in abundance this past week in Escalon.
The Operation Christmas Child effort, which collects shoeboxes full of small toys, toiletries, school supplies and more for underprivileged children, saw more than 1,100 boxes dropped off at Heritage Church, the local collection site.
Meanwhile, the Stuff the Bus effort, collecting food items to help stock the shelves of the local food pantry, Escalon C.A.R.E. Center, benefited from community donations as well.
At Heritage, the site was open for a few hours each day over the past week, wrapping up on Monday, Nov. 20. Organizers said the final total collected was 558 from Heritage Church members and 561 from the community, including other churches as well as families and individuals, to add up to 1,119.
Coordinator Pam Mendez said the last of the boxes were taken to Manteca on Monday, from there they start a journey to southern California, to a processing center, and then head off to benefit youngsters around the world who otherwise would not receive anything for Christmas.
“I’ve had so much great help this year,” Mendez said of the work crews assisting during the collection hours.
Volunteer Saundra Miller added that a Santa Cruz family driving through Escalon headed for a weekend stay at a cabin in the foothills, dropped off some boxes, as they had sought out a collection site and found that Escalon was available.
Fellow volunteer Annie Collins, who has been involved with the effort the past couple of years, said she took her young daughters Charlotte, 4, and Ella, 3, with her to fill the shoeboxes they donated this year.
“It was really fun and it’s a good lesson for the kids, to learn to give,” Collins said. “We walked up and down the aisles and the girls had fun picking things out.”
While the final collection days for Operation Christmas Child were taking place, another effort in town saw local residents donating food for the Escalon C.A.R.E. Center food pantry. In the annual Stuff the Bus food drive, hosted cooperatively by C.A.R.E. and the City of Escalon, the donated items focus on helping provide a holiday meal for those in need.
Escalon Transit Coordinator John Andoh and C.A.R.E. Director Sherrie Vaden, along with several volunteers, were on hand with the eTrans bus parked outside MarVal in the Vineyard Square Shopping Center on McHenry Avenue both Saturday and Sunday for the food drive.
When all the items were collected and counted, Andoh said the food pantry was the recipient of 156 bags of donated food, along with 14 turkeys, a ham, some pies and $40 in cash donations.
Vaden said the food was taken to the C.A.R.E. Center at the close of the food drive on Sunday, Nov. 19 and would be distributed this week so families could enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Along with shoppers able to purchase and donate what they wanted, there were also some pre-packed grocery bags, ranging in price, that could be purchased by shoppers and donated, all those bags including some of the items for a holiday meal.
C.A.R.E., which is at 1601 Second St., helps serve the emergency food needs of residents in Escalon, Collegeville and Farmington.
