Families giving others the gift of a holiday Salvation Army Christmas program reaches 300 families BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer ERIC SUCAR staff Clockwise from top: Salvation Army volunteer Nancy Poole helps a family select a toy during distribution of Christmas gift and food packages Dec. 14. Volunteer Beverly Starr stacks boxes containing provisions for Christmas dinner at the Salvation Army facility on Newman Springs Road in Red Bank. Chuck Dorsey is one of the many volunteers helping with distribution of Christmas packages, which were picked up by some 300 families last Friday. RED BANK - For the second year at its new facility on Newman Spring Road, the Salvation Army continued its tradition of distributing Christmas gifts to families in need. This year, volunteers saw 300 needy families receive gifts and other essentials Dec. 14 to make the holidays joyous for families and individuals who otherwise may not have had a holiday at all. "We try to see what the biggest need is and we fill the need there," said Tammy Briggs, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army Red Bank Corps. She said this year was one of the largest for the distribution and she sees it expanding in the future. Although this was the second year in a facility that, according to Briggs, is double the size of the Salvation Army's previous location, the organization has been in Red Bank since 1924 and in the United States since 1890. "During this special time of the year that many of us cherish, there will be many people who will not have a gift to open Christmas morning, have warm clothes on their back or have food on their table to eat," Briggs said in a press release. "The Salvation Army strives to meet the needs of these people who are often forgotten." She added, "The [Salvation] Army identifies and registers hundreds of families, individuals with special needs and elderly individuals in northern Monmouth County for its Thanksgiving and Christmas distribution programs." Briggs said the first priority for the distribution is the children and that each child gets at least two toys and an article of clothing. She added that many people who donate the gifts, clothing and/or food buy more than what is required. "It's a feel-good project to be able to help people at Christmastime, to help people at any time, and the Salvation Army does a great job at helping people," said longtime Salvation Army volunteer Dan Dorn of Little Silver. Dorn was present at this year's Christmas distribution, where he helped families carry their Christmas goodies to their cars. "The families that shop for these [needy] families, you wouldn't believe the toys that they bring: bicycles, electronic games, Tonka trucks," said Dorn. It's amazing to see the amount of people that chip in to make it all work." Briggs echoed the sentiment, saying that someone even dropped off one of the biggest catches this year in terms of children's gifts - the Nintendo Wii. "We try to accommodate [the kids] wish lists," said Briggs. "We get all of their information including their ages, sex, names, clothing size, and let them put in a reasonable wish list." For Dorn, volunteering at the Salvation Army is a family affair he has been doing with his wife for 10 years. He said his daughter, who teaches at Red Bank Regional High School, has also started working with students there to gather donations for the organization. "If anybody wants to help somebody, the Salvation Army is a good tool to use to do it," said Dorn. He said this year Lowe's Corp. brought a truckload of Christmas trees to donate to the families at the Christmas distribution, and while businesses like Lowe's and A&P Supermarkets contribute, it's really about families helping families. "I helped one lady load her car and wished her a Merry Christmas and she said, 'Merry Christmas?' " said Dorn. But to Dorn's surprise, the woman was not satisfied with just a "Merry Christmas" and hugged him instead for helping her and making her holiday season a little brighter.