Isaac Moreno dressed for the occasion this week when he volunteered to help distribute children’s Christmas gifts being given to families through the Elgin Salvation Army.
“For coming here, I decided I wanted to be the Grinch who gives back, just like at the end of the story,” Moreno said.
And just like the Dr. Seuss fable set in Whoville, things seemed bleak for a while but turned out happier than expected for the Elgin nonprofit’s campaign to collect enough gifts to fulfill the requests they’d received.
Late last week, Elgin Salvation Army Maj. Roberto Viquez said they were still looking for donations of toys, clothing and other items for its Angel Tree program. Since then, a woman who wishes to remain anonymous donated about 700 items.
“It was mostly toys for girls, which we really needed,” Viquez said.
All told, the Elgin Salvation Army was able to collect enough gifts for about 2,000 children who are part of 700 families. Each child was to receive three gifts, which were being distributed Tuesday and Wednesday at the agency’s Douglas Avenue community center.
In addition to being able to provide for the families who had signed up for the program, they were able to meet the requests of those on its waiting list and to reach out to other Elgin families in need, Viquez said.
“Elgin is a very giving community. You can tell by looking at the number of bags there in the gym waiting to be given out,” Salvation Army Divisional Cmdr. Lt. Colonel Jonathan Rich said. “That’s a blessing for us and for those in need.”
With less than a week before Christmas, Rich said donations were slightly down from 2023 in central and northern Illinois. But that wasn’t unusual as many people tend to wait until just before the holiday to give, he said.
Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain stopped by the giveaway event Tuesday.
“The Salvation Army has been here in Elgin at least since the 1960s. They do a great job helping those in need,” he said.
Moreno works for the city of Elgin’s land management crew as does Lynne Cavallini, of Elgin, who was joined by her daughter, Emily, of South Elgin, in volunteering at the distribution event. The pair checked in people as others retrieved bags holding gifts for them.
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“We’ve been doing this for five years. It’s our way to help and to give back,” Lynne Cavallini said.
Giving back was also part of the plan for Brenda Castro, of Carpentersville, who arrived with her son Max, 3, to pick up gifts but also would be helping people this holiday season.
Castro said she and her husband have four boys and two girls. Her husband works more than 40 hours a week, but it’s still been hard to make ends meet because inflation has driven up their expenses.
“This is a big help, a big support,” Castro said of the gift program.
As a small way of giving back, she’ll be hosting people at her Christmas Eve family dinner who otherwise would be on their own for the holiday, she said.
“We invite people who need a place to go for the holidays to visit and eat with us,” Castro said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.