MARBLEHEAD — SPUR good deeds is planning to provide winter essentials and holiday gifts to more than 500 children and adults facing homelessness this year.
Now in its sixth year, SPUR’s Holiday Cheer Drive benefits needy residents in the four communities served by the Marblehead-based organization — Lynn, Marblehead, Salem and Swampscott.
The nonprofit organization aims to cultivate a community of doers through an array of volunteerism and youth enrichment programs. Although SPUR itself isn’t an acronym, the organization’s mission is embedded in its full name, which is SPUR good deeds — inspire, volunteer connect (and) learn.
The drive kicked off this week and as of Friday evening, 264 of the 589 wish lists on SPUR’s website had already been sponsored. Each wish list includes something the recipient wants, something they need, something to wear, and something to read from the Holiday Cheer website.
Once sponsors have finished their shopping, they can return their new, unwrapped “bundles of cheer” to the SPUR office by Monday, Dec. 7.
“As many families are dealing with unforeseen challenges through the pandemic, we have seen a greater need for the support the Holiday Cheer Drive provides than ever before,” said Bryan Lamoreau, SPUR’s Director of Volunteer Engagement. “The SPUR Holiday Cheer Drive is about more than giving a gift. “It’s about making a difference in the lives of neighbors in our community.”
Since its creation, the Holiday Cheer Drive has not changed much, but it does seem to grow every year pretty significantly, said SPUR Community Relations Manager Kim Nothnagel.
“The spirit has been the same but we have really grown as an organization over time,” said Nothnagel. “Part of that is due to the need we’re seeing because of the pandemic this year.”
Much of that organizational growth is due to continuing to partner with additional community agencies, said Nothnagel. SPUR works with those organizations and caseworkers to identify specific items that recipients want or need, which is aimed at ensuring each “bundle of cheer” for the holiday drive is “designed specifically to improve the life of each recipient,” she said.
In addition to their holiday bundles, each recipient will receive a French-seamed pillowcase, which SPUR volunteers make by hand each year. Nothnagel said.
Each holiday bundle is individualized, Nothnagel said, noting that popular wishlist items for children include boots and winter jackets, which are easily grown out of when kids are young. Adults facing homelessness may need home goods, such as bed sheets and things to keep them safe and healthy, she said.
While all of the adults benefiting from the program are facing homelessness, not all of the children are. Many of the children are referred to SPUR from local food pantries. The kids are housed, but they come from families who may need an extra hand with providing winter essentials, Nothnagel said.
“The need is split pretty evenly between the communities we serve,” said Nothnagel. “There’s need in every community. Whether we’re able to see that need or not, it is there in every neighborhood.”
It can be easy to look at wealthy communities like Marblehead and Swampscott and think residents in those communities don’t need help, Nothnagel said, but that’s simply not true. For example, she said people may have lost their jobs or income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To browse and sponsor a wish list, visit SPUR’s holiday drive website at https://www.spurholidaycheer.com/.
