About 90 local families in need were treated to a shopping trip last week at the Walmart store in High Ridge, where they bought Christmas gifts, food and other items.
The families are clients at the Peace Pantry in Cedar Hill, which organized the event.
St. Martin’s United Church of Christ in Dittmer and Cedar Hill Lutheran Church, as well as Hayden Machinery East, which is owned by pantry board member Mike Terry, raised $23,026.88 to fund the shopping trip, Peace Pantry president Linda Schroeder said.
Typically the annual event calls for volunteers to get a shopping list from the clients, and then the volunteers go shopping for them. This year, however, the clients did their own shopping, Schroeder said.
“We felt like it was safer,” she said. “This way the people did their own shopping and kept their distance.”
On Dec. 17, representatives from 91 families showed up at the Walmart for the event and shopped for a total of 250 people, Schroeder said.
She said about $92 was allocated for each of the family members.
Schroeder said several families used the money to purchase food and a few families used the money to buy a computer.
“That’s something you don’t see donated much,” she said.
Schroeder said a grandmother used her money to purchase a laptop for her grandchildren to help with their schooling.
“She literally cried the whole time in the store because she was so thrilled, because the kids were falling behind,” Schroeder said.
She said the event was possible because of the generosity of so many in the community, who donated to the cause.
“The clients here had a wonderful Christmas and it’s only because of the community,” she said.
Schroeder said she believes the event was a success because the money stayed local and families had the freedom to purchase what they needed.
“I hope we get to do it again next year,” she said.